Mixed domain coding of audio

ABSTRACT

In one example, a method includes obtaining an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generating a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; selecting a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generating, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generating a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 62/274,898, filed Jan. 5, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to audio data and, more specifically, coding of higher-order ambisonic audio data.

BACKGROUND

A higher-order ambisonics (HOA) signal (often represented by a plurality of spherical harmonic coefficients (SHC) or other hierarchical elements) is a three-dimensional representation of a soundfield. The HOA or SHC representation may represent the soundfield in a manner that is independent of the local speaker geometry used to playback a multi-channel audio signal rendered from the SHC signal. The SHC signal may also facilitate backwards compatibility as the SHC signal may be rendered to well-known and highly adopted multi-channel formats, such as a 5.1 audio channel format or a 7.1 audio channel format. The SHC representation may therefore enable a better representation of a soundfield that also accommodates backward compatibility.

SUMMARY

In one example, a device includes one or more processors configured to: obtain an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generate a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; select a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generate, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generate a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield. In this example, the device further includes a memory, electrically coupled to the one or more processors, configured to store at least a portion of the coded audio bitstream.

In another example, a device includes a memory configured to store at least a portion of a coded audio bitstream; and one or more processors. In this example, the one or more processors are configured to: obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an audio signal in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain and a second set of elements of the audio signal in an HOA domain; obtain, for each respective element of the first set of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors, in the HOA domain; generate, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the first set of elements, a first HOA soundfield, wherein the first HOA soundfield represents the first set of elements; generate a second HOA soundfield that represents the second set of elements; combine the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield, the third HOA soundfield representing the audio signal; determine a local rendering format that represents a configuration of a plurality of local loudspeakers; and render, based on the local rendering format, the third HOA soundfield into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers.

In another example, a method includes obtaining an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generating a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; selecting a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generating, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generating a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield.

In another example, a method includes obtaining, from a coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an audio signal in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain and a second set of elements of the audio signal in an HOA domain; obtaining, for each respective element of the first set of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors, in the HOA domain; generating, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the first set of elements, a first HOA soundfield, wherein the first HOA soundfield represents the first set of elements; generating a second HOA soundfield that represents the second set of elements; combining the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield, the third HOA soundfield representing the audio signal; determining a local rendering format that represents a configuration of a plurality of local loudspeakers; and rendering, based on the local rendering format, the third HOA soundfield into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers.

The details of one or more aspects of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the techniques described in this disclosure will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system that may perform various aspects of the techniques described in this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating spherical harmonic basis functions of various orders and sub-orders.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio encoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio decoding device for use with the example implementation of audio encoding device shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio encoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating example implementation of a vector encoding unit, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a table showing an example set of ideal spherical design positions.

FIG. 8 is a table showing another example set of ideal spherical design positions.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of a vector encoding unit, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio decoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of a vector decoding unit, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an alternative implementation of a vector decoding unit, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio encoding device in which the audio encoding device is configured to encode object-based audio data, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of vector encoding unit 68C for object-based audio data, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating VBAP.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio decoding device in which the audio decoding device is configured to decode object-based audio data, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio encoding device in which the audio encoding device is configured to quantize spatial vectors, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio decoding device for use with the example implementation of the audio encoding device shown in FIG. 17, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of rendering unit 210, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio encoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio decoding device for use with the example implementations of audio encoding device shown in FIG. 20 and/or FIG. 22, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of an audio encoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 23 illustrates an automotive speaker playback environment, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations of an audio decoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations of an audio decoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations of an audio encoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The evolution of surround sound has made available many output formats for entertainment nowadays. Examples of such consumer surround sound formats are mostly ‘channel’ based in that they implicitly specify feeds to loudspeakers in certain geometrical coordinates. The consumer surround sound formats include the popular 5.1 format (which includes the following six channels: front left (FL), front right (FR), center or front center, back left or surround left, back right or surround right, and low frequency effects (LFE)), the growing 7.1 format, various formats that includes height speakers such as the 7.1.4 format and the 22.2 format (e.g., for use with the Ultra High Definition Television standard). Non-consumer formats can span any number of speakers (in symmetric and non-symmetric geometries) often termed ‘surround arrays’. One example of such an array includes 32 loudspeakers positioned on coordinates on the corners of a truncated icosahedron.

Audio encoders may receive input in one of three possible formats: (i) traditional channel-based audio (as discussed above), which is meant to be played through loudspeakers at pre-specified positions; (ii) object-based audio, which involves discrete pulse-code-modulation (PCM) data for single audio objects with associated metadata containing their location coordinates (amongst other information); and (iii) scene-based audio, which involves representing the soundfield using coefficients of spherical harmonic basis functions (also called “spherical harmonic coefficients” or SHC, “Higher-order Ambisonics” or HOA, and “HOA coefficients”).

In some examples, an encoder may encode the received audio data in the format in which it was received. For instance, an encoder that receives traditional 7.1 channel-based audio may encode the channel-based audio into a bitstream, which may be played back by a decoder. However, in some examples, to enable playback at decoders with 5.1 playback capabilities (but not 7.1 playback capabilities), an encoder may also include a 5.1 version of the 7.1 channel-based audio in the bitstream. In some examples, it may not be desirable for an encoder to include multiple versions of audio in a bitstream. As one example, including multiple version of audio in a bitstream may increase the size of the bitstream, and therefore may increase the amount of bandwidth needed to transmit and/or the amount of storage needed to store the bitstream. As another example, content creators (e.g., Hollywood studios) would like to produce the soundtrack for a movie once, and not spend effort to remix it for each speaker configuration. As such, it may be desirable to provide an encoding into a standardized bitstream and a subsequent decoding that is adaptable and agnostic to the speaker geometry (and number) and acoustic conditions at the location of the playback (involving a renderer).

In some examples, to enable an audio decoder to playback the audio with an arbitrary speaker configuration, an audio encoder may convert the input audio in a single format for encoding. For instance, an audio encoder may convert multi-channel audio data and/or audio objects into a hierarchical set of elements, and encode the resulting set of elements in a bitstream. The hierarchical set of elements may refer to a set of elements in which the elements are ordered such that a basic set of lower-ordered elements provides a full representation of the modeled soundfield. As the set is extended to include higher-order elements, the representation becomes more detailed, increasing resolution.

One example of a hierarchical set of elements is a set of spherical harmonic coefficients (SHC), which may also be referred to as higher-order ambisonics (HOA) coefficients. Equation (1), below, demonstrates a description or representation of a soundfield using SHC.

$\begin{matrix} {{{p_{i}\left( {t,r_{r},\theta_{r},\phi_{r}} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{\omega = 0}^{\infty}\; {\left\lbrack {4\; \pi {\sum\limits_{n = 0}^{\infty}\; {{j_{n}\left( {kr}_{r} \right)}{\sum\limits_{m = {- n}}^{n}\; {{A_{n}^{m}(k)}{Y_{n}^{m}\left( {\theta_{r},\phi_{r}} \right)}}}}}} \right\rbrack e^{j\; \omega \; t}}}},} & (1) \end{matrix}$

Equation (1) shows that the pressure p_(i) at any point {r_(r), θ_(r), φ_(r)} of the soundfield, at time t, can be represented uniquely by the SHC, A_(n) ^(m)(k). Here,

${k = \frac{\omega}{c}},$

c is the speed of sound (˜343 m/s), {r_(r), θ_(r), φ_(r)} is a point of reference (or observation point), j_(n)(.) is the spherical Bessel function of order n, and Y_(n) ^(m)(θ_(r), φ_(r)) are the spherical harmonic basis functions of order n and suborder m. It can be recognized that the term in square brackets is a frequency-domain representation of the signal (i.e., S(ω, r_(r), θ_(r), φ_(r))) which can be approximated by various time-frequency transformations, such as the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), the discrete cosine transform (DCT), or a wavelet transform. Other examples of hierarchical sets include sets of wavelet transform coefficients and other sets of coefficients of multiresolution basis functions. For purposes simplicity, the disclosure below is described with reference to HOA coefficients. However, it should be appreciated that the techniques may be equally applicable to other hierarchical sets.

However, in some examples, it may not be desirable to convert all received audio data into HOA coefficients. For instance, if an audio encoder were to convert all received audio data into HOA coefficients, the resulting bitstream may not be backward compatible with audio decoders that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients (i.e., audio decoders that can only process one or both of multi-channel audio data and audio objects). As such, it may be desirable for an audio encoder to encode received audio data such that the resulting bitstream enables an audio decoder to playback the audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration while also enabling backward compatibility with content consumer systems that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, as opposed to converting received audio data into HOA coefficients and encoding the resulting HOA coefficients in a bitstream, an audio encoder may encode, in a bitstream, the received audio data in its original format along with information that enables conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients. For instance, an audio encoder may determine one or more spatial positioning vectors (SPVs) that enable conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients, and encode a representation of the one or more SPVs and a representation of the received audio data in a bitstream. In some examples, the representation of a particular SPV of the one or more SPVs may be an index that corresponds to the particular SPV in a codebook. The spatial positioning vectors may be determined based on a source loudspeaker configuration (i.e., the loudspeaker configuration for which the received audio data is intended for playback). In this way, an audio encoder may output a bitstream that enables an audio decoder to playback the received audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration while also enabling backward compatibility with audio decoders that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients.

An audio decoder may receive the bitstream that includes the audio data in its original format along with the information that enables conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients. For instance, an audio decoder may receive multi-channel audio data in the 5.1 format and one or more spatial positioning vectors (SPVs). Using the one or more spatial positioning vectors, the audio decoder may generate an HOA soundfield from the audio data in the 5.1 format. For example, the audio decoder may generate a set of HOA coefficients based on the multi-channel audio signal and the spatial positioning vectors. The audio decoder may render, or enable another device to render, the HOA soundfield based on a local loudspeaker configuration. In this way, an audio decoder that is capable of processing HOA coefficients may play back multi-channel audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration while also enabling backward compatibility with audio decoders that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients.

As discussed above, an audio encoder may determine and encode one or more spatial positioning vectors (SPVs) that enable conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients. However, it some examples, it may be desirable for an audio decoder to play back received audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration when the bitstream does not include an indication of the one or more spatial positioning vectors.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, an audio decoder may receive encoded audio data and an indication of a source loudspeaker configuration (i.e., an indication of loudspeaker configuration for which the encoded audio data is intended for playback), and generate spatial positioning vectors (SPVs) that enable conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients based on the indication of the source loudspeaker configuration. In some examples, such as where the encoded audio data is multi-channel audio data in the 5.1 format, the indication of the source loudspeaker configuration may indicate that the encoded audio data is multi-channel audio data in the 5.1 format.

Using the spatial positioning vectors, the audio decoder may generate an HOA soundfield from the audio data. For example, the audio decoder may generate a set of HOA coefficients based on the multi-channel audio signal and the spatial positioning vectors. The audio decoder may render, or enable another device to render, the HOA soundfield based on a local loudspeaker configuration. In this way, an audio decoder may output a bitstream that enables an audio decoder to may playback the received audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration while also enabling backward compatibility with audio encoders that may not generate and encode spatial positioning vectors.

As discussed above, an audio coder (i.e., an audio encoder or an audio decoder) may obtain (i.e., generate, determine, retrieve, receive, etc.), spatial positioning vectors that enable conversion of the encoded audio data into an HOA soundfield. In some examples, the spatial positioning vectors may be obtained with the goal of enabling approximately “perfect” reconstruction of the audio data. Spatial positioning vectors may be considered to enable approximately “perfect” reconstruction of audio data where the spatial positioning vectors are used to convert input N-channel audio data into an HOA soundfield which, when converted back into N-channels of audio data, is approximately equivalent to the input N-channel audio data.

To obtain spatial positioning vectors that enable approximately “perfect” reconstruction, an audio coder may determine a number of coefficients N_(HOA) to use for each vector. If an HOA soundfield is expressed in accordance with Equations (2) and (3), and the N-channel audio that results from rendering the HOA soundfield with rendering matrix D is expressed as in accordance with Equations (4) and (5), then approximately “perfect” reconstruction may be possible if the number of coefficients is selected to be greater than or equal to the number of channels in the input N-channel audio data.

$\begin{matrix} {\left\lfloor {H_{1}H_{2}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} H_{N_{HOA}}} \right\rfloor \text{:}\mspace{14mu} M \times N_{HOA}} & (2) \\ {\underset{N_{HOA}}{\underset{}{\left\lbrack {H_{1}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} H_{i}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} H_{N_{HOA}}} \right\rbrack}},} & (3) \\ {\left\lfloor {C_{1}C_{2}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} C_{N}} \right\rfloor \text{:}\mspace{14mu} M \times N} & (4) \\ \underset{\underset{N}{}}{\left\lbrack \mspace{14mu} {\ldots \mspace{14mu} C_{i}\mspace{14mu} \ldots}\mspace{14mu} \right\rbrack} & (5) \end{matrix}$

In other words, approximately “perfect” reconstruction may be possible if Equation (6) is satisfied.

N≦N _(HOA)  (6)

In other words, approximately “perfect” reconstruction may be possible if the number of input channels N is less than or equal to the number of coefficients N_(HOA) used for each spatial positioning vector.

An audio coder may obtain the spatial positioning vectors with the selected number of coefficients. An HOA soundfield H may be expressed in accordance with Equation (7).

$\begin{matrix} {H = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\; H_{i}}} & (7) \end{matrix}$

In Equation (7), H_(i) for channel i may be the product of audio channel C_(i) for channel i and the transpose of spatial positioning vector V_(i) for channel i as shown in Equation (8).

H _(i) =C _(i) V _(i) ^(T)=((M×1)(N _(HOA)×1)^(T)).  (8)

H_(i) may be rendered to generate channel-based audio signal {tilde over (Γ)}_(i) as shown in Equation (9).

{tilde over (Γ)}_(i) =H _(i) D ^(T)=((M×N _(HOA))(N×N _(HOA))^(T))=C _(i) V _(i) ^(T) D ^(T)  (9)

Equation (9) may hold true if Equation (10) or Equation (11) is true, with the second solution to Equation (11) being removed due to being singular.

$\begin{matrix} {{V_{i}^{T}D^{T}} = {\overset{\overset{N}{}}{\left\lbrack {0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0,\underset{\underset{i^{th}\mspace{14mu} {element}}{}}{1},0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0} \right\rbrack}\mspace{14mu} {or}}} & (10) \\ {V_{i}^{T} = \left\{ {\left\lbrack {0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0,1,0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0} \right\rbrack \left( {DD}^{T} \right)^{- 1}D} \right.} & (11) \end{matrix}$

If Equation (10) or Equation (11) is true, then channel-based audio signal f may be represented in accordance with Equations (12)-(14).

$\begin{matrix} {{\overset{\sim}{\Gamma}}_{i} = {{C_{i}\left\lbrack {0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0,1,0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0} \right\rbrack}\left( {DD}^{T} \right)^{- 1}{DD}^{T}}} & (12) \\ {{\overset{\sim}{\Gamma}}_{i} = {C_{i}\left\lbrack {0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0,1,0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0} \right\rbrack}} & (13) \\ {{\overset{\sim}{\Gamma}}_{i} = \underset{\underset{N}{}}{\begin{bmatrix} 0 & \ldots & 0 & C_{i} & 0 & \ldots \end{bmatrix}}} & (14) \end{matrix}$

As such, to enable approximately “perfect” reconstruction, an audio coder may obtain spatial positioning vectors that satisfy Equations (15) and (16).

$\begin{matrix} {V_{i} = \left\lbrack {\underset{\underset{N}{}}{\left\lbrack {0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0,\underset{\underset{i^{th}\mspace{14mu} {element}}{}}{1},0,\ldots \mspace{14mu},0} \right\rbrack}\left( {DD}^{T} \right)^{- 1}D} \right\rbrack^{T}} & (15) \\ {N \leq N_{HOA}} & (16) \end{matrix}$

For completeness, the following is a proof that spatial positioning vectors that satisfy the above equations enable approximately “perfect” reconstruction. For a given N-channel audio expressed in accordance with Equation (17), an audio coder may obtain spatial positioning vectors which may be expressed in accordance with Equations (18) and (19), where D is a source rendering matrix determined based on the source loudspeaker configuration of the N-channel audio data, [0, . . . , 1, . . . , 0] includes N elements and the i^(th) element is one with the other elements being zero.

Γ=[C ₁ ,C ₂ , . . . ,C _(N)]  (17)

{V _(i)}_(i=1, . . . ,N)  (18)

V _(i)=[[0, . . . ,1, . . . ,0](DD ^(T))⁻¹ D] ^(T)  (19)

The audio coder may generate the HOA soundfield H based on the spatial positioning vectors and the N-channel audio data in accordance with Equation (20).

$\begin{matrix} {H = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\; {C_{i}V_{i}^{T}}}} & (20) \end{matrix}$

The audio coder may convert the HOA soundfield H back into N-channel audio data F in accordance with Equation (21), where D is a source rendering matrix determined based on the source loudspeaker configuration of the N-channel audio data.

{tilde over (Γ)}=HD ^(T)  (21)

As discussed above, “perfect” reconstruction is achieved if {tilde over (Γ)} is approximately equivalent to Γ. As shown below in Equations (22)-(26), {tilde over (Γ)} is approximately equivalent to Γ, therefore approximately “perfect” reconstruction may be possible:

$\begin{matrix} {\overset{\sim}{\Gamma} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\; {C_{i}V_{i}^{T}D^{T}}}} & (22) \\ {\overset{\sim}{\Gamma} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\; {\overset{\sim}{\Gamma}}_{i}}} & (23) \\ {\overset{\sim}{\Gamma} = {\left\lbrack {C_{1}0\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 0} \right\rbrack + \left\lbrack {0C_{2}0\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} 0} \right\rbrack + {\ldots \mspace{14mu}\left\lbrack {00\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} C_{n}} \right\rbrack}}} & (24) \\ {\overset{\sim}{\Gamma} = {C_{1}C_{2}\mspace{14mu} \ldots \mspace{14mu} C_{N}}} & (25) \\ {\overset{\sim}{\Gamma} = \Gamma} & (26) \end{matrix}$

Matrices, such as rendering matrices, may be processed in various ways. For example, a matrix may be processed (e.g., stored, added, multiplied, retrieved, etc.) as rows, columns, vectors, or in other ways.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system 2 that may perform various aspects of the techniques described in this disclosure. As shown in the example of FIG. 1, system 2 includes content creator system 4 and content consumer system 6. While described in the context of content creator system 4 and content consumer system 6, the techniques may be implemented in any context in which audio data is encoded to form a bitstream representative of the audio data. Moreover, content creator system 4 may include any form of computing device, or computing devices, capable of implementing the techniques described in this disclosure, including a handset (or cellular phone), a tablet computer, a smart phone, or a desktop computer to provide a few examples. Likewise, content consumer system 6 may include any form of computing device, or computing devices, capable of implementing the techniques described in this disclosure, including a handset (or cellular phone), a tablet computer, a smart phone, a set-top box, an AV-receiver, a wireless speaker, or a desktop computer to provide a few examples.

Content creator system 4 may be operated by various content creators, such as movie studios, television studios, internet streaming services, or other entity that may generate audio content for consumption by operators of content consumer systems, such as content consumer system 6. Often, the content creator generates audio content in conjunction with video content. Content consumer system 6 may be operated by an individual. In general, content consumer system 6 may refer to any form of audio playback system capable of outputting multi-channel audio content.

Content creator system 4 includes audio encoding device 14, which may be capable of encoding received audio data into a bitstream. Audio encoding device 14 may receive the audio data from various sources. For instance, audio encoding device 14 may obtain live audio data 10 and/or pre-generated audio data 12. Audio encoding device 14 may receive live audio data 10 and/or pre-generated audio data 12 in various formats. As one example, audio encoding device 14 may receive live audio data 10 from one or more microphones 8 as HOA coefficients, audio objects, or multi-channel audio data. As another example, audio encoding device 14 may receive pre-generated audio data 12 as HOA coefficients, audio objects, or multi-channel audio data.

As stated above, audio encoding device 14 may encode the received audio data into a bitstream, such as bitstream 20, for transmission, as one example, across a transmission channel, which may be a wired or wireless channel, a data storage device, or the like. In some examples, content creator system 4 directly transmits the encoded bitstream 20 to content consumer system 6. In other examples, the encoded bitstream may also be stored onto a storage medium or a file server for later access by content consumer system 6 for decoding and/or playback.

As discussed above, in some examples, the received audio data may include HOA coefficients. However, in some examples, the received audio data may include audio data in formats other than HOA coefficients, such as multi-channel audio data and/or object based audio data. In some examples, audio encoding device 14 may convert the received audio data in a single format for encoding. For instance, as discussed above, audio encoding device 14 may convert multi-channel audio data and/or audio objects into HOA coefficients and encode the resulting HOA coefficients in bitstream 20. In this way, audio encoding device 14 may enable a content consumer system to playback the audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration.

However, in some examples, it may not be desirable to convert all received audio data into HOA coefficients. For instance, if audio encoding device 14 were to convert all received audio data into HOA coefficients, the resulting bitstream may not be backward compatible with content consumer systems that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients (i.e., content consumer systems that can only process one or both of multi-channel audio data and audio objects). As such, it may be desirable for audio encoding device 14 to encode the received audio data such that the resulting bitstream enables a content consumer system to playback the audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration while also enabling backward compatibility with content consumer systems that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, as opposed to converting received audio data into HOA coefficients and encoding the resulting HOA coefficients in a bitstream, audio encoding device 14 may encode the received audio data in its original format along with information that enables conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients in bitstream 20. For instance, audio encoding device 14 may determine one or more spatial positioning vectors (SPVs) that enable conversion of the encoded audio data into HOA coefficients, and encode a representation of the one or more SPVs and a representation of the received audio data in bitstream 20. In some examples, audio encoding device 14 may determine one or more spatial positioning vectors that satisfy Equations (15) and (16), above. In this way, audio encoding device 14 may output a bitstream that enables a content consumer system to playback the received audio data with an arbitrary speaker configuration while also enabling backward compatibility with content consumer systems that are not capable of processing HOA coefficients.

Content consumer system 6 may generate loudspeaker feeds 26 based on bitstream 20. As shown in FIG. 1, content consumer system 6 may include audio decoding device 22 and loudspeakers 24. Loudspeakers 24 may also be referred to as local loudspeakers. Audio decoding device 22 may be capable of decoding bitstream 20. As one example, audio decoding device 22 may decode bitstream 20 to reconstruct the audio data and the information that enables conversion of the decoded audio data into HOA coefficients. As another example, audio decoding device 22 may decode bitstream 20 to reconstruct the audio data and may locally determine the information that enables conversion of the decoded audio data into HOA coefficients. For instance, audio decoding device 22 may determine one or more spatial positioning vectors that satisfy Equations (15) and (16), above.

In any case, audio decoding device 22 may use the information to convert the decoded audio data into HOA coefficients. For instance, audio decoding device 22 may use the SPVs to convert the decoded audio data into HOA coefficients, and render the HOA coefficients. In some examples, audio decoding device may render the resulting HOA coefficients to output loudspeaker feeds 26 that may drive one or more of loudspeakers 24. In some examples, audio decoding device may output the resulting HOA coefficients to an external render (not shown) which may render the HOA coefficients to output loudspeaker feeds 26 that may drive one or more of loudspeakers 24. In other words, a HOA soundfield is played back by loudspeakers 24. In various examples, loudspeakers 24 may be a vehicle, home, theater, concert venue, or other locations.

Audio encoding device 14 and audio decoding device 22 each may be implemented as any of a variety of suitable circuitry, such as one or more integrated circuits including microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), discrete logic, software, hardware, firmware, or any combinations thereof. When the techniques are implemented partially in software, a device may store instructions for the software in a suitable, non-transitory computer-readable medium and execute the instructions in hardware such as integrated circuitry using one or more processors to perform the techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating spherical harmonic basis functions from the zero order (n=0) to the fourth order (n=4). As can be seen, for each order, there is an expansion of suborders m which are shown but not explicitly noted in the example of FIG. 1 for ease of illustration purposes.

The SHC A_(n) ^(m)(k) can either be physically acquired (e.g., recorded) by various microphone array configurations or, alternatively, they can be derived from channel-based or object-based descriptions of the soundfield. The SHC represent scene-based audio, where the SHC may be input to an audio encoder to obtain encoded SHC that may promote more efficient transmission or storage. For example, a fourth-order representation involving (1+4)² (25, and hence fourth order) coefficients may be used.

As noted above, the SHC may be derived from a microphone recording using a microphone array. Various examples of how SHC may be derived from microphone arrays are described in Poletti, M., “Three-Dimensional Surround Sound Systems Based on Spherical Harmonics,” J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 53, No. 11, 2005 November, pp. 1004-1025.

To illustrate how the SHCs may be derived from an object-based description, consider the following equation. The coefficients A_(n) ^(m)(k) for the soundfield corresponding to an individual audio object may be expressed as shown in Equation (27), where i is √{square root over (−1)}, h_(n) ⁽²⁾(.) is the spherical Hankel function (of the second kind) of order n, and {r_(s), θ_(s), φ_(s)} is the location of the object.

A _(n) ^(m)(k)=g(ω)(−4πik)h _(n) ⁽²⁾(kr _(s))Y _(n) ^(m*)(θ_(s),φ_(s))  (27)

Knowing the object source energy g(ω) as a function of frequency (e.g., using time-frequency analysis techniques, such as performing a fast Fourier transform on the PCM stream) allows us to convert each PCM object and the corresponding location into the SHC A_(n) ^(m)(k). Further, it can be shown (since the above is a linear and orthogonal decomposition) that the A_(n) ^(m)(k) coefficients for each object are additive. In this manner, a multitude of PCM objects can be represented by the A_(n) ^(m)(k) coefficients (e.g., as a sum of the coefficient vectors for the individual objects). Essentially, the coefficients contain information about the soundfield (the pressure as a function of 3D coordinates), and the above represents the transformation from individual objects to a representation of the overall soundfield, in the vicinity of the observation point {r_(r), θ_(r), φ_(r)}.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio encoding device 14, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 3 is labeled audio encoding device 14A. Audio encoding device 14A includes audio encoding unit 51, bitstream generation unit 52A, and memory 54. In other examples, audio encoding device 14A may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, audio encoding device 14A may not include audio encoding unit 51 or audio encoding unit 51 may be implemented in a separate device may be connected to audio encoding device 14A via one or more wired or wireless connections.

Audio signal 50 may represent an input audio signal received by audio encoding device 14A. In some examples, audio signal 50 may be a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, audio signal 50 may include N channels of audio data denoted as channel C₁ through channel C_(N). As one example, audio signal 50 may be a six-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration of 5.1 (i.e., a front-left channel, a center channel, a front-right channel, a surround back left channel, a surround back right channel, and a low-frequency effects (LFE) channel). As another example, audio signal 50 may be an eight-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration of 7.1 (i.e., a front-left channel, a center channel, a front-right channel, a surround back left channel, a surround left channel, a surround back right channel, a surround right channel, and a low-frequency effects (LFE) channel). Other examples are possible, such as a twenty-four-channel audio signal (e.g., 22.2), a nine-channel audio signal (e.g., 8.1), and any other combination of channels.

In some examples, audio encoding device 14A may include audio encoding unit 51, which may be configured to encode audio signal 50 into coded audio signal 62. For instance, audio encoding unit 51 may quantize, format, or otherwise compress audio signal 50 to generate audio signal 62. As shown in the example of FIG. 3, audio encoding unit 51 may encode channels C₁-C_(N) of audio signal 50 into channels C′₁-C′_(N) of coded audio signal 62. In some examples, audio encoding unit 51 may be referred to as an audio CODEC.

Source loudspeaker setup information 48 may specify the number of loudspeakers (e.g., N) in a source loudspeaker setup and positions of the loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. In some examples, source loudspeaker setup information 48 may indicate the positions of the source loudspeakers in the form of an azimuth and an elevation (e.g., {θ_(i)φ_(i)}_(i=1, . . . ,N)). In some examples, source loudspeaker setup information 48 may indicate the positions of the source loudspeakers in the form of a pre-defined set-up (e.g., 5.1, 7.1, 22.2). In some examples, audio encoding device 14A may determine a source rendering format D based on source loudspeaker setup information 48. In some examples, source rendering format D may be represented as a matrix.

Bitstream generation unit 52A may be configured to generate a bitstream based on one or more inputs. In the example of FIG. 3, bitstream generation unit 52A may be configured to encode loudspeaker position information 48 and audio signal 50 into bitstream 56A. In some examples, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode audio signal without compression. For instance, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode audio signal 50 into bitstream 56A. In some examples, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode audio signal with compression. For instance, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode coded audio signal 62 into bitstream 56A.

In some examples, to loudspeaker position information 48 into bitstream 56A, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode (e.g., signal) the number of loudspeakers (e.g., N) in the source loudspeaker setup and the positions of the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup in the form of an azimuth and an elevation (e.g., {θ_(i), φ_(i)}_(i=1, . . . ,N)). Furthers in some examples, bitstream generation unit 52A may determine and encode an indication of how many HOA coefficients are to be used (e.g., N_(HOA)) when converting audio signal 50 into an HOA soundfield. In some examples, audio signal 50 may be divided into frames. In some examples, bitstream generation unit 52A may signal the number of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup and the positions of the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup for each frame. In some examples, such as where the source loudspeaker setup for current frame is the same as a source loudspeaker setup for a previous frame, bitstream generation unit 52A may omit signaling the number of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup and the positions of the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup for the current frame.

In operation, audio encoding device 14A may receive audio signal 50 as a six-channel multi-channel audio signal and receive loudspeaker position information 48 as an indication of the positions of the source loudspeakers in the form of the 5.1 pre-defined set-up. As discussed above, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode loudspeaker position information 48 and audio signal 50 into bitstream 56A. For instance, bitstream generation unit 52A may encode a representation of the six-channel multi-channel (audio signal 50) and the indication that the encoded audio signal is a 5.1 audio signal (the source loudspeaker position information 48) into bitstream 56A.

As discussed above, in some examples, audio encoding device 14A may directly transmit the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56A) to an audio decoding device. In other examples, audio encoding device 14A may store the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56A) onto a storage medium or a file server for later access by an audio decoding device for decoding and/or playback. In the example of FIG. 3, memory 54 may store at least a portion of bitstream 56A prior to output by audio encoding device 14A. In other words, memory 54 may store all of bitstream 56A or a part of bitstream 56A.

Thus, audio encoding device 14A may include one or more processors configured to: receive a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., multi-channel audio signal 50 for loudspeaker position information 48); obtain, based on the source loudspeaker configuration, a plurality of spatial positioning vectors in the Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain that, in combination with the multi-channel audio signal, represent a set of higher-order ambisonic (HOA) coefficients that represent the multi-channel audio signal; and encode, in a coded audio bitstream (e.g., bitstream 56A), a representation of the multi-channel audio signal (e.g., coded audio signal 62) and an indication of the plurality of spatial positioning vectors (e.g., loudspeaker position information 48). Further, audio encoding device 14A may include a memory (e.g., memory 54), electrically coupled to the one or more processors, configured to store the coded audio bitstream.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio decoding device 22 for use with the example implementation of audio encoding device 14A shown in FIG. 3, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio decoding device 22 shown in FIG. 4 is labeled 22A. The implementation of audio decoding device 22 in FIG. 4 includes memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202A, audio decoding unit 204, vector creating unit 206, an HOA generation unit 208A, and a rendering unit 210. In other examples, audio decoding device 22A may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, rendering unit 210 may be implemented in a separate device, such as a loudspeaker, headphone unit, or audio base or satellite device, and may be connected to audio decoding device 22A via one or more wired or wireless connections.

Memory 200 may obtain encoded audio data, such as bitstream 56A. In some examples, memory 200 may directly receive the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56A) from an audio encoding device. In other examples, the encoded audio data may be stored and memory 200 may obtain the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56A) from a storage medium or a file server. Memory 200 may provide access to bitstream 56A to one or more components of audio decoding device 22A, such as demultiplexing unit 202.

Demultiplexing unit 202A may demultiplex bitstream 56A to obtain coded audio data 62 and source loudspeaker setup information 48. Demultiplexing unit 202A may provide the obtained data to one or more components of audio decoding device 22A. For instance, demultiplexing unit 202A may provide coded audio data 62 to audio decoding unit 204 and provide source loudspeaker setup information 48 to vector creating unit 206.

Audio decoding unit 204 may be configured to decode coded audio signal 62 into audio signal 70. For instance, audio decoding unit 204 may dequantize, deformat, or otherwise decompress audio signal 62 to generate audio signal 70. As shown in the example of FIG. 4, audio decoding unit 204 may decode channels C′₁-C′_(N) of audio signal 62 into channels C′₁-C′_(N) of decoded audio signal 70. In some examples, such as where audio signal 62 is coded using a lossless coding technique, audio signal 70 may be approximately equal or approximately equivalent to audio signal 50 of FIG. 3. In some examples, audio decoding unit 204 may be referred to as an audio CODEC. Audio decoding unit 204 may provide decoded audio signal 70 to one or more components of audio decoding device 22A, such as HOA generation unit 208A.

Vector creating unit 206 may be configured to generate one or more spatial positioning vectors. For instance, as shown in the example of FIG. 4, vector creating unit 206 may generate spatial positioning vectors 72 based on source loudspeaker setup information 48. In some examples, spatial positioning vector 72 may be in the Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain. In some examples, to generate spatial positioning vector 72, vector creating unit 206 may determine a source rendering format D based on source loudspeaker setup information 48. Using the determined source rendering format D, vector creating unit 206 may determine spatial positioning vectors 72 to satisfy Equations (15) and (16), above. Vector creating unit 206 may provide spatial positioning vectors 72 to one or more components of audio decoding device 22A, such as HOA generation unit 208A.

HOA generation unit 208A may be configured to generate an HOA soundfield based on multi-channel audio data and spatial positioning vectors. For instance, as shown in the example of FIG. 4, HOA generation unit 208A may generate set of HOA coefficients 212A based on decoded audio signal 70 and spatial positioning vectors 72. In some examples, HOA generation unit 208A may generate set of HOA coefficients 212A in accordance with Equation (28), below, where H represents HOA coefficients 212A, C_(i) represents decoded audio signal 70, and V_(i) ^(T) represents the transpose of spatial positioning vectors 72.

$\begin{matrix} {H = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\; {C_{i}V_{i}^{T}}}} & (28) \end{matrix}$

HOA generation unit 208A may provide the generated HOA soundfield to one or more other components. For instance, as shown in the example of FIG. 4, HOA generation unit 208A may provide HOA coefficients 212A to rendering unit 210.

Rendering unit 210 may be configured to render an HOA soundfield to generate a plurality of audio signals. In some examples, rendering unit 210 may render HOA coefficients 212A of the HOA soundfield to generate audio signals 26A for playback at a plurality of local loudspeakers, such as loudspeakers 24 of FIG. 1. Where the plurality of local loudspeakers includes L loudspeakers, audio signals 26A may include channels C₁ through C_(L) that are respectively indented for playback through loudspeakers 1 through L.

Rendering unit 210 may generate audio signals 26A based on local loudspeaker setup information 28, which may represent positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers. In some examples, local loudspeaker setup information 28 may be in the form of a local rendering format {tilde over (D)}. In some examples, local rendering format {tilde over (D)} may be a local rendering matrix. In some examples, such as where local loudspeaker setup information 28 is in the form of an azimuth and an elevation of each of the local loudspeakers, rendering unit 210 may determine local rendering format {tilde over (D)} based on local loudspeaker setup information 28. In some examples, rendering unit 210 may generate audio signals 26A based on local loudspeaker setup information 28 in accordance with Equation (29), where {tilde over (C)} represents audio signals 26A, H represents HOA coefficients 212A, and {tilde over (D)}^(T) represents the transpose of the local rendering format {tilde over (D)}.

{tilde over (C)}=H{tilde over (D)} ^(T)  (29)

In some examples, the local rendering format {tilde over (D)} may be different than the source rendering format D used to determine spatial positioning vectors 72. As one example, positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than positions of the plurality of source loudspeakers. As another example, a number of loudspeakers in the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than a number of loudspeakers in the plurality of source loudspeakers. As another example, both the positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than positions of the plurality of source loudspeakers and the number of loudspeakers in the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than the number of loudspeakers in the plurality of source loudspeakers.

Thus, audio decoding device 22A may include a memory (e.g., memory 200) configured to store a coded audio bitstream. Audio decoding device 22A may further include one or more processors electrically coupled to the memory and configured to: obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a representation of a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., coded audio signal 62 for loudspeaker position information 48); obtain a representation of a plurality of spatial positioning vectors (SPVs) in the Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain that are based on the source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., spatial positioning vectors 72); and generate a HOA soundfield (e.g., HOA coefficients 212A) based on the multi-channel audio signal and the plurality of spatial positioning vectors.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio encoding device 14, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 5 is labeled audio encoding device 14B. Audio encoding device 14B includes audio encoding unit 51, bitstream generation unit 52A, and memory 54. In other examples, audio encoding device 14B may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, audio encoding device 14B may not include audio encoding unit 51 or audio encoding unit 51 may be implemented in a separate device may be connected to audio encoding device 14B via one or more wired or wireless connections.

In contrast to audio encoding device 14A of FIG. 3 which may encode coded audio signal 62 and loudspeaker position information 48 without encoding an indication of the spatial positioning vectors, audio encoding device 14B includes vector encoding unit 68 which may determine spatial positioning vectors. In some examples, vector encoding unit 68 may determine the spatial positioning vectors based on loudspeaker position information 48 and output spatial vector representation data 71A for encoding into bitstream 56B by bitstream generation unit 52B.

In some examples, vector encoding unit 68 may generate vector representation data 71A as indices in a codebook. As one example, vector encoding unit 68 may generate vector representation data 71A as indices in a codebook that is dynamically created (e.g., based on loudspeaker position information 48). Additional details of one example of vector encoding unit 68 that generates vector representation data 71A as indices in a dynamically created codebook are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 6-8. As another example, vector encoding unit 68 may generate vector representation data 71A as indices in a codebook that includes spatial positioning vectors for pre-determined source loudspeaker setups. Additional details of one example of vector encoding unit 68 that generates vector representation data 71A as indices in a codebook that includes spatial positioning vectors for pre-determined source loudspeaker setups are discussed below with reference to FIG. 9.

Bitstream generation unit 52B may include data representing coded audio signal 60 and spatial vector representation data 71A in a bitstream 56B. In some examples, bitstream generation unit 52B may also include data representing loudspeaker position information 48 in bitstream 56B. In the example of FIG. 5, memory 54 may store at least a portion of bitstream 56B prior to output by audio encoding device 14B.

Thus, audio encoding device 14B may include one or more processors configured to: receive a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., multi-channel audio signal 50 for loudspeaker position information 48); obtain, based on the source loudspeaker configuration, a plurality of spatial positioning vectors in the Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain that, in combination with the multi-channel audio signal, represent a set of HOA coefficients that represent the multi-channel audio signal; and encode, in a coded audio bitstream (e.g., bitstream 56B), a representation of the multi-channel audio signal (e.g., coded audio signal 62) and an indication of the plurality of spatial positioning vectors (e.g., spatial vector representation data 71A). Further, audio encoding device 14B may include a memory (e.g., memory 54), electrically coupled to the one or more processors, configured to store the coded audio bitstream.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating example implementation of vector encoding unit 68, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 6, the example implementation of vector encoding unit 68 is labeled vector encoding unit 68A. In the example of FIG. 6, vector encoding unit 68A comprises a rendering format unit 110, a vector creation unit 112, a memory 114, and a representation unit 115. Furthermore, as shown in the example of FIG. 6, rendering format unit 110 receives source loudspeaker setup information 48.

Rendering format unit 110 uses source loudspeaker setup information 48 to determine a source rendering format 116. Source rendering format 116 may be a rendering matrix for rendering a set of HOA coefficients into a set of loudspeaker feeds for loudspeakers arranged in a manner described by source loudspeaker setup information 48. Rendering format unit 110 may determine source rendering format 116 in various ways. For example, rendering format unit 110 may use the technique described in ISO/IEC 23008-3, “Information technology—High efficiency coding and media delivery in heterogeneous environments—Part 3: 3D audio,” First Edition, 2015 (available at iso.org).

In an example where rendering format unit 110 uses the technique described in ISO/IEC 23008-3, source loudspeaker setup information 48 includes information specifying directions of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. For ease of explanation, this disclosure may refer to the loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup as the “source loudspeakers.” Thus, source loudspeaker setup information 48 may include data specifying L loudspeaker directions, where L is the number of source loudspeakers. The data specifying the L loudspeaker directions may be denoted

_(L). The data specifying the directions of the source loudspeakers may be expressed as pairs of spherical coordinates. Hence,

_(L)=[{circumflex over (Ω)}₁ . . . , {circumflex over (Ω)}_(L)] with spherical angle {circumflex over (Ω)}₁=[{circumflex over (θ)}₁, {circumflex over (Φ)}₁]^(T). {circumflex over (θ)}₁ indicates the angle of inclination and {circumflex over (Φ)}₁ indicates the angle of azimuth, which may be expressed in rad. In this example, rendering format unit 110 may assume the source loudspeakers have a spherical arrangement, centered at the acoustic sweet spot.

In this example, rendering format unit 110 may determine a mode matrix, denoted {tilde over (Ψ)}, based on an HOA order and a set of ideal spherical design positions. FIG. 7 shows an example set of ideal spherical design positions. FIG. 8 is a table showing another example set of ideal spherical design positions. The ideal spherical design positions may be denoted

_(S)=[Ω₁, . . . ,Ω_(S)], where S is the number of ideal spherical design positions and {circumflex over (Ω)}_(s)=[θ_(s), φ_(s)]. The mode matrix may be defined such that {tilde over (Ψ)}=[y₁, . . . ,y_(S),], with y_(s)=[s₀ ⁰(Ω_(s)), s₁ ⁻¹(Ω_(s)), . . . , s_(N) ^(N)(Ω_(s))]^(H), where y_(s) holds the real valued spherical harmonic coefficients s_(N) ^(N)(Ω_(s)). In general, a real valued spherical harmonic coefficients s_(N) ^(N)(Ω_(s)) may be represented in accordance with Equations (30) and (31).

$\begin{matrix} {{S_{n}^{m}\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {\sqrt{\left( {{2n} + 1} \right)\frac{\left( {n - {m}} \right)!}{\left( {n + {m}} \right)!}}{P_{n,{m}}\left( {\cos \; \theta} \right)}{{trg}_{m}(\varphi)}}} & (30) \\ {{{with}\mspace{14mu} {{trg}_{m}(\varphi)}} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {\sqrt{2}{\cos \left( {m\; \varphi} \right)}} & {m > 0} \\ 1 & {m = 0} \\ {\sqrt{2}{\sin \left( {m\; \varphi} \right)}} & {m < 0} \end{matrix} \right.} & (31) \end{matrix}$

In Equations (30) and (31), the Legendre functions P_(n,m)(x) may be defined in accordance with Equation (32), below, with the Legendre Polynomial P_(n)(x) and without the Condon-Shortley phase term (−1)^(m).

$\begin{matrix} {{{P_{n,m}(x)} = {\left( {1 - x^{2}} \right)^{m/2}\frac{d^{m}}{{dx}^{m}}{P_{n}(x)}}},{m \geq 0}} & (32) \end{matrix}$

FIG. 7 presents an example table 130 having entries that correspond to ideal spherical design positions. In the example of FIG. 7, each row of table 130 is an entry corresponding to a predefined loudspeaker position. Column 131 of table 130 specifies ideal azimuths for loudspeakers in degrees. Column 132 of table 130 specifies ideal elevations for loudspeakers in degrees. Columns 133 and 134 of table 130 specify acceptable ranges of azimuth angles for loudspeakers in degrees. Columns 135 and 136 of table 130 specify acceptable ranges of elevation angles of loudspeakers in degrees.

FIG. 8 presents a portion of another example table 140 having entries that that correspond to ideal spherical design positions. Although not shown in FIG. 8, table 140 includes 900 entries, each specifying a different azimuth angle, φ, and elevation, θ, of a loudspeaker location. In the example of FIG. 8, audio encoding device 14 may specify a position of a loudspeaker in the source loudspeaker setup by signaling an index of an entry in table 140. For example, audio encoding device 14 may specify a loudspeaker in the source loudspeaker setup is at azimuth 1.967778 radians and elevation 0.428967 radians by signaling index value 46.

Returning to the example of FIG. 6, vector creation unit 112 may obtain source rendering format 116. Vector creation unit 112 may determine a set of spatial vectors 118 based on source rendering format 116. In some examples, the number of spatial vectors generated by vector creation unit 112 is equal to the number of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. For instance, if there are N loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup, vector creation unit 112 may determine N spatial vectors. For each loudspeaker n in the source loudspeaker setup, where n ranges from 1 to N, the spatial vector for the loudspeaker may be equal or equivalent to V_(n)=[A_(n)(DD^(T))⁻¹D]^(T). In this equation, D is the source rendering format represented as a matrix and A_(n) is a matrix consisting of a single row of elements equal in number to N (i.e., A_(n) is an N-dimensional vector). Each element in A_(n) is equal to 0 except for one element whose value is equal to 1. The index of the position within A_(n) of the element equal to 1 is equal to n. Thus, when n is equal to 1, A_(n) is equal to [1,0,0, . . . ,0]; when n is equal to 2, A_(n) is equal to [0,1,0, . . . ,0]; and so on.

Memory 114 may store a codebook 120. Memory 114 may be separate from vector encoding unit 68A and may form part of a general memory of audio encoding device 14. Codebook 120 includes a set of entries, each of which maps a respective code-vector index to a respective spatial vector of the set of spatial vectors 118. The following table is an example codebook. In this table, each respective row corresponds to a respective entry, N indicates the number of loudspeakers, and D represents the source rendering format represented as a matrix.

Code-vector index Spatial vector 1 V₁ = [[1, 0, 0, . . . , 0, . . . , 0](DD^(T))⁻¹D]^(T) 2 V₂ = [[0, 1, 0, . . . , 0, . . . , 0](DD^(T))⁻¹D]^(T) . . . . . . N V_(N) = [[0, 0, . . . , 0, . . . , 1](DD^(T))⁻¹D]T

For each respective loudspeaker of the source loudspeaker setup, representation unit 115 outputs the code-vector index corresponding to the respective loudspeaker. For example, representation unit 115 may output data indicating the code-vector index corresponding to a first channel is 2, the code-vector index corresponding to a second channel is equal to 4, and so on. A decoding device having a copy of codebook 120 is able to use the code-vector indices to determine the spatial vector for the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup. Hence, the code-vector indexes are a type of spatial vector representation data. As discussed above, bitstream generation unit 52B may include spatial vector representation data 71A in bitstream 56B.

Furthermore, in some examples, representation unit 115 may obtain source loudspeaker setup information 48 and may include data indicating locations of the source loudspeakers in spatial vector representation data 71A. In other examples, representation unit 115 does not include data indicating locations of the source loudspeakers in spatial vector representation data 71A. Rather, in at least some such examples, the locations of the source loudspeakers may be preconfigured at audio decoding device 22.

In examples where representation unit 115 includes data indicating locations of the source loudspeaker in spatial vector representation data 71A, representation unit 115 may indicate the locations of the source loudspeakers in various ways. In one example, source loudspeaker setup information 48 specifies a surround sound format, such as the 5.1 format, the 7.1 format, or the 22.2 format. In this example, each of the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup is at a predefined location. Accordingly, representation unit 115 may include, in spatial representation data 115, data indicating the predefined surround sound format. Because the loudspeakers in the predefined surround sound format are at predefined positions, the data indicating the predefined surround sound format may be sufficient for audio decoding device 22 to generate a codebook matching codebook 120.

In another example, ISO/IEC 23008-3 defines a plurality of CICP speaker layout index values for different loudspeaker layouts. In this example, source loudspeaker setup information 48 specifies a CICP speaker layout index (CICPspeakerLayoutIdx) as specified in ISO/IEC 23008-3. Rendering format unit 110 may determine, based on this CICP speaker layout index, locations of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. Accordingly, representation unit 115 may include, in spatial vector representation data 71A, an indication of the CICP speaker layout index.

In another example, source loudspeaker setup information 48 specifies an arbitrary number of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup and arbitrary locations of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. In this example, rendering format unit 110 may determine the source rendering format based on the arbitrary number of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup and arbitrary locations of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. In this example, the arbitrary locations of the loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup may be expressed in various ways. For example, representation unit 115 may include, in spatial vector representation data 71A, spherical coordinates of the loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. In another example, audio encoding device 14 and audio decoding device 22 are configured with a table having entries corresponding to a plurality of predefined loudspeaker positions. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are examples of such tables. In this example, rather than spatial vector representation data 71A further specifying spherical coordinates of loudspeakers, spatial vector representation data 71A may instead include data indicating index values of entries in the table. Signaling an index value may be more efficient than signaling spherical coordinates.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of vector encoding unit 68, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 9, the example implementation of vector encoding unit 68 is labeled vector encoding unit 68B. In the example of FIG. 9, spatial vector unit 68B includes a codebook library 150 and a selection unit 154. Codebook library 150 may be implemented using a memory. Codebook library 150 includes one or more predefined codebooks 152A-152N (collectively, “codebooks 152”). Each respective one of codebooks 152 includes a set of one or more entries. Each respective entry maps a respective code-vector index to a respective spatial vector.

Each respective one of codebooks 152 corresponds to a different predefined source loudspeaker setup. For example, a first codebook in codebook library 150 may correspond to a source loudspeaker setup consisting of two loudspeakers. In this example, a second codebook in codebook library 150 corresponds to a source loudspeaker setup consisting of five loudspeakers arranged at the standard locations for the 5.1 surround sound format. Furthermore, in this example, a third codebook in codebook library 150 corresponds to a source loudspeaker setup consisting of seven loudspeakers arranged at the standard locations for the 7.1 surround sound format. In this example, a fourth codebook in codebook library 100 corresponds to a source loudspeaker setup consisting of 22 loudspeakers arranged at the standard locations for the 22.2 surround sound format. Other examples may include more, fewer, or different codebooks than those mentioned in the previous example.

In the example of FIG. 9, selection unit 154 receives source loudspeaker setup information 48. In one example, source loudspeaker information 48 may consist of or comprises information identifying a predefined surround sound format, such as 5.1, 7.1, 22.2, and others. In another example, source loudspeaker information 48 consists of or comprises information identifying another type of predefined number and arrangement of loudspeakers.

Selection unit 154 identifies, based on the source loudspeaker setup information, which of codebooks 152 is applicable to the audio signals received by audio decoding device 22. In the example of FIG. 9, selection unit 154 outputs spatial vector representation data 71A indicating which of audio signals 50 corresponds to which entries in the identified codebook. For instance, selection unit 154 may output a code-vector index for each of audio signals 50.

In some examples, vector encoding unit 68 employs a hybrid of the predefined codebook approach of FIG. 6 and the dynamic codebook approach of FIG. 9. For instance, as described elsewhere in this disclosure, where channel-based audio is used, each respective channel corresponds to a respective loudspeaker of the source loudspeaker setup and vector encoding unit 68 determines a respective spatial vector for each respective loudspeaker of the source loudspeaker setup. In some of such examples, such as where channel-based audio is used, vector encoding unit 68 may use one or more predefined codebooks to determine the spatial vectors of particular loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup. Vector encoding unit 68 may determine a source rendering format based on the source loudspeaker setup, and use the source rendering format to determine spatial vectors for other loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio decoding device 22, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio decoding device 22 shown in FIG. 5 is labeled audio decoding device 22B. The implementation of audio decoding device 22 in FIG. 10 includes memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202B, audio decoding unit 204, vector decoding unit 207, an HOA generation unit 208A, and a rendering unit 210. In other examples, audio decoding device 22B may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, rendering unit 210 may be implemented in a separate device, such as a loudspeaker, headphone unit, or audio base or satellite device, and may be connected to audio decoding device 22B via one or more wired or wireless connections.

In contrast to audio decoding device 22A of FIG. 4 which may generate spatial positioning vectors 72 based on loudspeaker position information 48 without receiving an indication of the spatial positioning vectors, audio decoding device 22B includes vector decoding unit 207 which may determine spatial positioning vectors 72 based on received spatial vector representation data 71A.

In some examples, vector decoding unit 207 may determine spatial positioning vectors 72 based on codebook indices represented by spatial vector representation data 71A. As one example, vector decoding unit 207 may determine spatial positioning vectors 72 from indices in a codebook that is dynamically created (e.g., based on loudspeaker position information 48). Additional details of one example of vector decoding unit 207 that determines spatial positioning vectors from indices in a dynamically created codebook are discussed below with reference to FIG. 11. As another example, vector decoding unit 207 may determine spatial positioning vectors 72 from indices in a codebook that includes spatial positioning vectors for pre-determined source loudspeaker setups. Additional details of one example of vector decoding unit 207 that determines spatial positioning vectors from indices in a codebook that includes spatial positioning vectors for pre-determined source loudspeaker setups are discussed below with reference to FIG. 12.

In any case, vector decoding unit 207 may provide spatial positioning vectors 72 to one or more other components of audio decoding device 22B, such as HOA generation unit 208A.

Thus, audio decoding device 22B may include a memory (e.g., memory 200) configured to store a coded audio bitstream. Audio decoding device 22B may further include one or more processors electrically coupled to the memory and configured to: obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a representation of a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., coded audio signal 62 for loudspeaker position information 48); obtain a representation of a plurality of SPVs in the HOA domain that are based on the source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., spatial positioning vectors 72); and generate a HOA soundfield (e.g., HOA coefficients 212A) based on the multi-channel audio signal and the plurality of spatial positioning vectors.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of vector decoding unit 207, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 11, the example implementation of vector decoding unit 207 is labeled vector decoding unit 207A. In the example of FIG. 11, vector decoding unit 207 includes a rendering format unit 250, a vector creation unit 252, a memory 254, and a reconstruction unit 256. In other examples, vector decoding unit 207 may include more, fewer, or different components.

Rendering format unit 250 may operate in a manner similar to that of rendering format unit 110 of FIG. 6. As with rendering format unit 110, rendering format unit 250 may receive source loudspeaker setup information 48. In some examples, source loudspeaker setup information 48 is obtained from a bitstream. In other examples, source loudspeaker setup information 48 is preconfigured at audio decoding device 22. Furthermore, like rendering format unit 110, rendering format unit 250 may generate a source rendering format 258. Source rendering format 258 may match source rendering format 116 generated by rendering format unit 110.

Vector creation unit 252 may operate in a manner similar to that of vector creation unit 112 of FIG. 6. Vector creation unit 252 may use source rendering format 258 to determine a set of spatial vectors 260. Spatial vectors 260 may match spatial vectors 118 generated by vector generation unit 112. Memory 254 may store a codebook 262. Memory 254 may be separate from vector decoding 206 and may form part of a general memory of audio decoding device 22. Codebook 262 includes a set of entries, each of which maps a respective code-vector index to a respective spatial vector of the set of spatial vectors 260. Codebook 262 may match codebook 120 of FIG. 6.

Reconstruction unit 256 may output the spatial vectors identified as corresponding to particular loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup. For instance, reconstruction unit 256 may output spatial vectors 72.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an alternative implementation of vector decoding unit 207, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 12, the example implementation of vector decoding unit 207 is labeled vector decoding unit 207B. Vector decoding unit 207 includes a codebook library 300 and a reconstruction unit 304. Codebook library 300 may be implemented using a memory. Codebook library 300 includes one or more predefined codebooks 302A-302N (collectively, “codebooks 302”). Each respective one of codebooks 302 includes a set of one or more entries. Each respective entry maps a respective code-vector index to a respective spatial vector. Codebook library 300 may match codebook library 150 of FIG. 9.

In the example of FIG. 12, reconstruction unit 304 obtains source loudspeaker setup information 48. In a similar manner as selection unit 154 of FIG. 9, reconstruction unit 304 may use source loudspeaker setup information 48 to identify an applicable codebook in codebook library 300. Reconstruction unit 304 may output the spatial vectors specified in the applicable codebook for the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup information.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio encoding device 14 in which audio encoding device 14 is configured to encode object-based audio data, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 13 is labeled 14C. In the example of FIG. 13, audio encoding device 14C includes a vector encoding unit 68C, a bitstream generation unit 52C, and a memory 54.

In the example of FIG. 13, vector encoding unit 68C obtains source loudspeaker setup information 48. In addition, vector encoding unit 58C obtains audio object position information 350. Audio object position information 350 specifies a virtual position of an audio object. Vector encoding unit 68B uses source loudspeaker setup information 48 and audio object position information 350 to determine spatial vector representation data 71B for the audio object. FIG. 14, described in detail below, describes an example implementation of vector encoding unit 68C.

Bitstream generation unit 52C obtains an audio signal 50B for the audio object. Bitstream generation unit 52C may include data representing audio signal 50C and spatial vector representation data 71B in a bitstream 56C. In some examples, bitstream generation unit 52C may encode audio signal 50B using a known audio compression format, such as MP3, AAC, Vorbis, FLAC, and Opus. In some instances, bitstream generation unit 52C may transcode audio signal 50B from one compression format to another. In some examples, audio encoding device 14C may include an audio encoding unit, such as an audio encoding unit 51 of FIGS. 3 and 5, to compress and/or transcode audio signal 50B. In the example of FIG. 13, memory 54 stores at least portions of bitstream 56C prior to output by audio encoding device 14C.

Thus, audio encoding device 14C includes a memory configured to store an audio signal of an audio object (e.g., audio signal 50B) for a time interval and data indicating a virtual source location of the audio object (e.g., audio object position information 350). Furthermore, audio encoding device 14C includes one or more processors electrically coupled to the memory. The one or more processors are configured to determine, based on the data indicating the virtual source location for the audio object and data indicating a plurality of loudspeaker locations (e.g., source loudspeaker setup information 48), a spatial vector of the audio object in a HOA domain. Furthermore, in some examples, audio encoding device 14C may include, in a bitstream, data representative of the audio signal and data representative of the spatial vector. In some examples, the data representative of the audio signal is not a representation of data in the HOA domain. Furthermore, in some examples, a set of HOA coefficients describing a sound field containing the audio signal during the time interval is equal or equivalent to the audio signal multiplied by the transpose of the spatial vector.

Additionally, in some examples, spatial vector representation data 71B may include data indicating locations of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup. Bitstream generation unit 52C may include the data representing the locations of the loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup in bitstream 56C. In other examples, bitstream generation unit 52C does not include data indicating locations of loudspeakers of the source loudspeaker setup in bitstream 56C.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of vector encoding unit 68C for object-based audio data, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. In the example of FIG. 14, vector encoding unit 68C includes a rendering format unit 400, an intermediate vector unit 402, a vector finalization unit 404, a gain determination unit 406, and a quantization unit 408.

In the example of FIG. 14, rendering format unit 400 obtains source loudspeaker setup information 48. Rendering format unit 400 determines a source rendering format 410 based on source loudspeaker setup information 48. Rendering format unit 400 may determine source rendering format 410 in accordance with one or more of the examples provided elsewhere in this disclosure.

In the example of FIG. 14, intermediate vector unit 402 determines a set of intermediate spatial vectors 412 based on source rendering format 410. Each respective intermediate spatial vector of the set of intermediate spatial vectors 412 corresponds to a respective loudspeaker of the source loudspeaker setup. For instance, if there are N loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup, intermediate vector unit 402 determines N intermediate spatial vectors. For each loudspeaker n in the source loudspeaker setup, where n ranges from 1 to N, the intermediate spatial vector for the loudspeaker may be equal or equivalent to V_(n)=[A_(n)(DD^(T))⁻¹D]^(T). In this equation, D is the source rendering format represented as a matrix and A_(n) is a matrix consisting of a single row of elements equal in number to N. Each element in A_(n) is equal to 0 except for one element whose value is equal to 1. The index of the position within A_(n) of the element equal to 1 is equal to n.

Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 14, gain determination unit 406 obtains source loudspeaker setup information 48 and audio object location data 49. Audio object location data 49 specifies the virtual location of an audio object. For example, audio object location data 49 may specify spherical coordinates of the audio object. In the example of FIG. 14, gain determination unit 406 determines a set of gain factors 416. Each respective gain factor of the set of gain factors 416 corresponds to a respective loudspeaker of the source loudspeaker setup. Gain determination unit 406 may use vector base amplitude panning (VBAP) to determine gain factors 416. VBAP may be used to place virtual audio sources with an arbitrary loudspeaker setup where the same distance of the loudspeakers from the listening position is assumed. Pulkki, “Virtual Sound Source Positioning Using Vector Base Amplitude Panning,” Journal of Audio Engineering Society, Vol. 45, No. 6, June 1997, provides a description of VBAP

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating VBAP. In VBAP, the gain factors applied to an audio signal output by three speakers trick a listener into perceiving that the audio signal is coming from a virtual source position 450 located within an active triangle 452 between the three loudspeakers. Virtual source position 450 may be a position indicated by the location coordinates of an audio object. For instance, in the example of FIG. 15, virtual source position 450 is closer to loudspeaker 454A than to loudspeaker 454B. Accordingly, the gain factor for loudspeaker 454A may be greater than the gain factor for loudspeaker 454B. Other examples are possible with greater numbers of loudspeakers or with two loudspeakers.

VBAP uses a geometrical approach to calculate gain factors 416. In examples, such as FIG. 15, where three loudspeakers are used for each audio object, the three loudspeakers are arranged in a triangle to form a vector base. Each vector base is identified by the loudspeaker numbers k, m, n and the loudspeaker position vectors I_(k), I_(m), and I_(n) given in Cartesian coordinates normalized to unity length. The vector base for loudspeakers k, m, and n may be defined by:

I _(k,m,n)=(I _(k) ,I _(m) ,I _(n))  (33)

The desired direction Q=(θ, φ) of the audio object may be given as azimuth angle ρ and elevation angle θ. θ, φ may be the location coordinates of an audio object. The unity length position vector p(Ω) of the virtual source in Cartesian coordinates is therefore defined by:

p(Ω)=(cos φ sin θ, sin φ sin θ, cos θ)^(T)  (34)

A virtual source position can be represented with the vector base and the gain factors g(Ω)=g(Ω)=({tilde over (g)}_(k),{tilde over (g)}_(m),{tilde over (g)}_(n))^(T) by

p(Ω)=L _(kmn) g(Ω)={tilde over (g)} _(k) I _(k) +{tilde over (g)} _(m) I _(m) +{tilde over (g)} _(n) I _(n).  (35)

By inverting the vector base matrix, the required gain factors can be computed by:

g(Ω)=L _(kmn) ⁻¹ p(Ω).  (36)

The vector base to be used is determined according to Equation (36). First, the gains are calculated according to Equation (36) for all vector bases. Subsequently, for each vector base, the minimum over the gain factors is evaluated by g(Ω)=min{{tilde over (g)}_(k),{tilde over (g)}_(m),{tilde over (g)}_(n)}. The vector base where {tilde over (g)}_(min) has the highest value is used. In general, the gain factors are not permitted to be negative. Depending on the listening room acoustics, the gain factors may be normalized for energy preservation.

In the example of FIG. 14, vector finalization unit 404 obtains gain factors 416. Vector finalization unit 404 generates, based on intermediate spatial vectors 412 and gain factors 416, a spatial vector 418 for the audio object. In some examples, vector finalization unit 404 determines the spatial vector using the following equation:

V=Σ _(i=1) ^(N) g _(i) I _(i)  (37)

In the equation above, V is the spatial vector, N is the number of loudspeakers in the source loudspeaker setup, g_(i) is the gain factor for loudspeaker i, and I_(i) is the intermediate spatial vector for loudspeaker i. In some examples where gain determination unit 406 uses VBAP with three loudspeakers, only three of gain factors g_(i) are non-zero.

Thus, in an example where vector finalization unit 404 determines spatial vector 418 using Equation (37), spatial vector 418 is equal or equivalent to a sum of a plurality of operands. Each respective operand of the plurality of operands corresponds to a respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations. For each respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations, a plurality of loudspeaker location vectors includes a loudspeaker location vector for the respective loudspeaker location. Furthermore, for each respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations, the operand corresponding to the respective loudspeaker location is equal or equivalent to a gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location multiplied by the loudspeaker location vector for the respective loudspeaker location. In this example, the gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location indicates a respective gain for the audio signal at the respective loudspeaker location.

Thus, in this example, the spatial vector 418 is equal or equivalent to a sum of a plurality of operands. Each respective operand of the plurality of operands corresponds to a respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations. For each respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations, a plurality of loudspeaker location vectors includes a loudspeaker location vector for the respective loudspeaker location. Furthermore, the operand corresponding to the respective loudspeaker location is equal or equivalent to a gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location multiplied by the loudspeaker location vector for the respective loudspeaker location. In this example, the gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location indicates a respective gain for the audio signal at the respective loudspeaker location.

To summarize, in some examples, rendering format unit 400 of video encoding unit 68C may determine a rendering format for rendering a set of HOA coefficients into loudspeaker feeds for loudspeakers at source loudspeaker locations. Additionally, vector finalization unit 404 may determine a plurality of loudspeaker location vectors. Each respective loudspeaker location vector of the plurality of loudspeaker location vectors may correspond to a respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations. To determine the plurality of loudspeaker location vectors, gain determination unit 406 may, for each respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations, determine, based on location coordinates of the audio object, a gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location. The gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location may indicate a respective gain for the audio signal at the respective loudspeaker location. Additionally, for each respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations, determine, based on location coordinates of the audio object, intermediate vector unit 402 may determine, based on the rendering format, the loudspeaker location vector corresponding to the respective loudspeaker location. Vector finalization unit 404 may determine the spatial vector as a sum of a plurality of operands, each respective operand of the plurality of operands corresponding to a respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations. For each respective loudspeaker location of the plurality of loudspeaker locations, the operand corresponding to the respective loudspeaker location is equal or equivalent to the gain factor for the respective loudspeaker location multiplied by the loudspeaker location vector corresponding to the respective loudspeaker location.

Quantization unit 408 quantizes the spatial vector for the audio object. For instance, quantization unit 408 may quantize the spatial vector according to the vector quantization techniques described elsewhere in this disclosure. For instance, quantization unit 408 may quantize spatial vector 418 using the scalar quantization, scalar quantization with Huffman coding, or vector quantization techniques described with regard to FIG. 17. Thus, the data representative of the spatial vector that is included in bitstream 70C is the quantized spatial vector.

As discussed above, spatial vector 418 may be equal or equivalent to a sum of a plurality of operands. For purposes of this disclosure, a first element may be considered to be equal to a second element where any of the following is true (1) a value of the first element is mathematically equal to a value of the second element, (2) the value of the first element, when rounded (e.g., due to bit depth, register limits, floating-point representation, fixed point representation, binary-coded decimal representation, etc.), is the same as the value of the second element, when rounded (e.g., due to bit depth, register limits, floating-point representation, fixed point representation, binary-coded decimal representation, etc.), or (3) the value of the first element is identical to the value of the second element.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio decoding device 22 in which audio decoding device 22 is configured to decode object-based audio data, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio decoding device 22 shown in FIG. 16 is labeled 22C. In the example of FIG. 16, audio decoding device 22C includes memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202C, audio decoding unit 66, vector decoding unit 209, HOA generation unit 208B, and rendering unit 210. In general, memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202C, audio decoding unit 66, HOA generation unit 208B, and rendering unit 210 may operate in a manner similar to that described with regard to memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202B, audio decoding unit 204, HOA generation unit 208A, and rendering unit 210 of the example of FIG. 10. In other examples, the implementation of audio decoding device 22 described with regard to FIG. 14 may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, rendering unit 210 may be implemented in a separate device, such as a loudspeaker, headphone unit, or audio base or satellite device.

In the example of FIG. 16, audio decoding device 22C obtains bitstream 56C. Bitstream 56C may include an encoded object-based audio signal of an audio object and data representative of a spatial vector of the audio object. In the example of FIG. 16, the object-based audio signal is not based, derived from, or representative of data in the HOA domain. However, the spatial vector of the audio object is in the HOA domain. In the example of FIG. 16, memory 200 is configured to store at least portions of bitstream 56C and, hence, is configured to store data representative of the audio signal of the audio object and the data representative of the spatial vector of the audio object.

Demultiplexing unit 202C may obtain spatial vector representation data 71B from bitstream 56C. Spatial vector representation data 71B includes data representing spatial vectors for each audio object. Thus, demultiplexing unit 202C may obtain, from bitstream 56C, data representing an audio signal of an audio object and may obtain, from bitstream 56C, data representative of a spatial vector for the audio object. In examples, such as where the data representing the spatial vectors is quantized, vector decoding unit 209 may inverse quantize the spatial vectors to determine the spatial vectors 72 of the audio objects.

HOA generation unit 208B may then use spatial vectors 72 in the manner described with regard to FIG. 10. For instance, HOA generation unit 208B may generate an HOA soundfield, such HOA coefficients 212B, based on spatial vectors 72 and audio signal 70.

Thus, audio decoding device 22B includes a memory 58 configured to store a bitstream. Additionally, audio decoding device 22B includes one or more processors electrically coupled to the memory. The one or more processors are configured to determine, based on data in the bitstream, an audio signal of the audio object, the audio signal corresponding to a time interval. Furthermore, the one or more processors are configured to determine, based on data in the bitstream, a spatial vector for the audio object. In this example, the spatial vector is defined in a HOA domain. Furthermore, in some examples, the one or more processors convert the audio signal of the audio object and the spatial vector to a set of HOA coefficients 212B describing a sound field during the time interval. As described elsewhere in this disclosure, HOA generation unit 208B may determine the set of HOA coefficients such that the set of HOA coefficients is equal to the audio signal multiplied by a transpose of the spatial vector.

In the example of FIG. 16, rendering unit 210 may operate in a similar manner as rendering unit 210 of FIG. 10. For instance, rendering unit 210 may generate a plurality of audio signals 26 by applying a rendering format (e.g., a local rendering matrix) to HOA coefficients 212B. Each respective audio signal of the plurality of audio signals 26 may correspond to a respective loudspeaker in a plurality of loudspeakers, such as loudspeakers 24 of FIG. 1.

In some examples, rendering unit 210B may adapt the local rendering format based on information 28 indicating locations of a local loudspeaker setup. Rendering unit 210B may adapt the local rendering format in the manner described below with regard to FIG. 19.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio encoding device 14 in which audio encoding device 14 is configured to quantize spatial vectors, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 17 is labeled 14D. In the example of FIG. 17, audio encoding device 14D includes a vector encoding unit 68D, a quantization unit 500, a bitstream generation unit 52D, and a memory 54.

In the example of FIG. 17, vector encoding unit 68D may operate in a manner similar to that described above with regard to FIG. 5 and/or FIG. 13. For instance, if audio encoding device 14D is encoding channel-based audio, vector encoding unit 68D may obtain source loudspeaker setup information 48. Vector encoding unit 68 may determine a set of spatial vectors based on the positions of loudspeakers specified by source loudspeaker setup information 48. If audio encoding device 14D is encoding object-based audio, vector encoding unit 68D may obtain audio object position information 350 in addition to source loudspeaker setup information 48. Audio object position information 49 may specify a virtual source location of an audio object. In this example, spatial vector unit 68D may determine a spatial vector for the audio object in much the same way that vector encoding unit 68C shown in the example of FIG. 13 determines a spatial vector for an audio object. In some examples, spatial vector unit 68D is configured to determine spatial vectors for both channel-based audio and object-based audio. In other examples, vector encoding unit 68D is configured to determine spatial vectors for only one of channel-based audio or object-based audio.

Quantization unit 500 of audio encoding device 14D quantizes spatial vectors determined by vector encoding unit 68C. Quantization unit 500 may use various quantization techniques to quantize a spatial vector. Quantization unit 500 may be configured to perform only a single quantization technique or may be configured to perform multiple quantization techniques. In examples where quantization unit 500 is configured to perform multiple quantization techniques, quantization unit 500 may receive data indicating which of the quantization techniques to use or may internally determine which of the quantization techniques to apply.

In one example quantization technique, the spatial vector may be generated by vector encoding unit 68D for channel or object i is denoted V_(i). In this example, quantization unit 500 may calculate an intermediate spatial vector V _(i) such that V _(i) is equal to V_(i)/∥V_(i)∥, where ∥V_(i)∥ may be a quantization step size. Furthermore, in this example, quantization unit 500 may quantize the intermediate spatial vector V _(i). The quantized version of the intermediate spatial vector V _(i) may be denoted {circumflex over (V)}_(i). In addition, quantization unit 500 may quantize ∥V_(i)∥. The quantized version of ∥V_(i)∥ may be denoted ∥{circumflex over (V)}_(i)∥. Quantization unit 500 may output {circumflex over (V)}_(i) and ∥{circumflex over (V)}_(i)∥ for inclusion in bitstream 56D. Thus, quantization unit 500 may output a set of quantized vector data for audio signal 50D. The set of quantized vector data for audio signal 50C may include {circumflex over (V)}_(i) and ∥{circumflex over (V)}_(i)∥.

Quantization unit 500 may quantize intermediate spatial vector V _(i) in various ways. In one example, quantization unit 500 may apply scalar quantization (SQ) to the intermediate spatial vector V _(i). In another example quantization technique, quantization unit 200 may apply a scalar quantization with Huffman coding to the intermediate spatial vector V _(i). In another example quantization technique, quantization unit 200 may apply a vector quantization to the intermediate spatial vector V _(i). In examples where quantization unit 200 applies a scalar quantization technique, a scalar quantization plus Huffman coding technique, or a vector quantization technique, audio decoding device 22 may inverse quantize a quantized spatial vector.

Conceptually, in scalar quantization, a number line is divided into a plurality of bands, each corresponding to a different scalar value. When quantization unit 500 applies scalar quantization to the intermediate spatial vector V _(i), quantization unit 500 replaces each respective element of the intermediate spatial vector V _(i) with the scalar value corresponding to the band containing the value specified by the respective element. For ease of explanation, this disclosure may refer to the scalar values corresponding to the bands containing the values specified by the elements of the spatial vectors as “quantized values.” In this example, quantization unit 500 may output a quantized spatial vector {circumflex over (V)}_(i) that includes the quantized values.

The scalar quantization plus Huffman coding technique may be similar to the scalar quantization technique. However, quantization unit 500 additionally determines a Huffman code for each of the quantized values. Quantization unit 500 replaces the quantized values of the spatial vector with the corresponding Huffman codes. Thus, each element of the quantized spatial vector {circumflex over (V)}_(i) specifies a Huffman code. Huffman coding allows each of the elements to be represented as a variable length value instead of a fixed length value, which may increase data compression. Audio decoding device 22D may determine an inverse quantized version of the spatial vector by determining the quantized values corresponding to the Huffman codes and restoring the quantized values to their original bit depths.

In at least some examples where quantization unit 500 applies vector quantization to intermediate spatial vector V _(i), quantization unit 500 may transform the intermediate spatial vector V _(i) to a set of values in a discrete subspace of lower dimension. For ease of explanation, this disclosure may refer to the dimensions of the discrete subspace of lower dimension as the “reduced dimension set” and the original dimensions of the spatial vector as the “full dimension set.” For instance, the full dimension set may consist of twenty-two dimensions and the reduced dimension set may consist of eight dimensions. Hence, in this instance, quantization unit 500 transforms the intermediate spatial vector V _(i) from a set of twenty-two values to a set of eight values. This transformation may take the form of a projection from the higher-dimensional space of the spatial vector to the subspace of lower dimension.

In at least some examples where quantization unit 500 applies vector quantization, quantization unit 500 is configured with a codebook that includes a set of entries. The codebook may be predefined or dynamically determined. The codebook may be based on a statistical analysis of spatial vectors. Each entry in the codebook indicates a point in the lower-dimension subspace. After transforming the spatial vector from the full dimension set to the reduced dimension set, quantization unit 500 may determine a codebook entry corresponding to the transformed spatial vector. Among the codebook entries in the codebook, the codebook entry corresponding to the transformed spatial vector specifies the point closest to the point specified by the transformed spatial vector. In one example, quantization unit 500 outputs the vector specified by the identified codebook entry as the quantized spatial vector. In another example, quantization unit 200 outputs a quantized spatial vector in the form of a code-vector index specifying an index of the codebook entry corresponding to the transformed spatial vector. For instance, if the codebook entry corresponding to the transformed spatial vector is the 8^(th) entry in the codebook, the code-vector index may be equal to 8. In this example, audio decoding device 22 may inverse quantize the code-vector index by looking up the corresponding entry in the codebook. Audio decoding device 22D may determine an inverse quantized version of the spatial vector by assuming the components of the spatial vector that are in the full dimension set but not in the reduced dimension set are equal to zero.

In the example of FIG. 17, bitstream generation unit 52D of audio encoding device 14D obtains quantized spatial vectors 204 from quantization unit 200, obtains audio signals 50C, and outputs bitstream 56D. In examples where audio encoding device 14D is encoding channel-based audio, bitstream generation unit 52D may obtain an audio signal and a quantized spatial vector for each respective channel. In examples where audio encoding device 14 is encoding object-based audio, bitstream generation unit 52D may obtain an audio signal and a quantized spatial vector for each respective audio object. In some examples, bitstream generation unit 52D may encode audio signals 50C for greater data compression. For instance, bitstream generation unit 52D may encode each of audio signals 50C using a known audio compression format, such as MP3, AAC, Vorbis, FLAC, and Opus. In some instances, bitstream generation unit 52C may transcode audio signals 50C from one compression format to another. Bitstream generation unit 52D may include the quantized spatial vectors in bitstream 56C as metadata accompanying the encoded audio signals.

Thus, audio encoding device 14D may include one or more processors configured to: receive a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., multi-channel audio signal 50 for loudspeaker position information 48); obtain, based on the source loudspeaker configuration, a plurality of spatial positioning vectors in the Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain that, in combination with the multi-channel audio signal, represent a set of higher-order ambisonic (HOA) coefficients that represent the multi-channel audio signal; and encode, in a coded audio bitstream (e.g., bitstream 56D), a representation of the multi-channel audio signal (e.g., audio signal 50C) and an indication of the plurality of spatial positioning vectors (e.g., quantized vector data 554). Further, audio encoding device 14A may include a memory (e.g., memory 54), electrically coupled to the one or more processors, configured to store the coded audio bitstream.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio decoding device 22 for use with the example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 17, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The implementation of audio decoding device 22 shown in FIG. 18 is labeled audio decoding device 22D. Similar to the implementation of audio decoding device 22 described with regard to FIG. 10, the implementation of audio decoding device 22 in FIG. 18 includes memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202D, audio decoding unit 204, HOA generation unit 208C, and rendering unit 210.

In contrast to the implementations of audio decoding device 22 described with regard to FIG. 10, the implementation of audio decoding device 22 described with regard to FIG. 18 may include inverse quantization unit 550 in place of vector decoding unit 207. In other examples, audio decoding device 22D may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, rendering unit 210 may be implemented in a separate device, such as a loudspeaker, headphone unit, or audio base or satellite device.

Memory 200, demultiplexing unit 202D, audio decoding unit 204, HOA generation unit 208C, and rendering unit 210 may operate in the same way as described elsewhere in this disclosure with regard to the example of FIG. 10. However, demultiplexing unit 202D may obtain sets of quantized vector data 554 from bitstream 56D. Each respective set of quantized vector data corresponds to a respective one of audio signals 70. In the example of FIG. 18, sets of quantized vector data 554 are denoted V′₁ through V′_(N). Inverse quantization unit 550 may use the sets of quantized vector data 554 to determine inverse quantized spatial vectors 72. Inverse quantization unit 550 may provide the inverse quantized spatial vectors 72 to one or more components of audio decoding device 22D, such as HOA generation unit 208C.

Inverse quantization unit 550 may use the sets quantized vector data 554 to determine inverse quantized vectors in various ways. In one example, each set of quantized vector data includes a quantized spatial vector {circumflex over (V)}_(i) and a quantized quantization step size ∥{circumflex over (V)}_(i)∥ for an audio signal Ĉ_(i). In this example, inverse quantization unit 550 may determine an inverse quantized spatial vector {hacek over (V)}_(i) based on the quantized spatial vector {circumflex over (V)}_(i) and the quantized quantization step size ∥{circumflex over (V)}_(i)∥. For instance, inverse quantization unit 550 may determine the inverse quantized spatial vector {hacek over (V)}_(i), such that {hacek over (V)}_(i)={circumflex over (V)}_(i)*∥{circumflex over (V)}_(i)∥. Based on the inverse quantized spatial vector {hacek over (V)}_(i) and the audio signal Ĉ_(i), HOA generation unit 208C may determine an HOA domain representation as H=Σ_(i=1) ^(N)Ĉ_(i){hacek over (V)}_(i) ^(T). As described elsewhere in this disclosure, rendering unit 210 may obtain a local rendering format {tilde over (D)}. In addition, loudspeaker feeds 80 may be denoted Ĉ. Rendering unit 210C may generate loudspeaker feeds 26 as Ĉ=H{tilde over (D)}.

Thus, audio decoding device 22D may include a memory (e.g., memory 200) configured to store a coded audio bitstream (e.g., bitstream 56D). Audio decoding device 22D may further include one or more processors electrically coupled to the memory and configured to: obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a representation of a multi-channel audio signal for a source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., coded audio signal 62 for loudspeaker position information 48); obtain a representation of a plurality of spatial positioning vectors (SPVs) in the Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain that are based on the source loudspeaker configuration (e.g., spatial positioning vectors 72); and generate a HOA soundfield (e.g., HOA coefficients 212C) based on the multi-channel audio signal and the plurality of spatial positioning vectors.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of rendering unit 210, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 19, rendering unit 210 may include listener location unit 610, loudspeaker position unit 612, rendering format unit 614, memory 615, and loudspeaker feed generation unit 616.

Listener location unit 610 may be configured to determine a location of a listener of a plurality of loudspeakers, such as loudspeakers 24 of FIG. 1. In some examples, listener location unit 610 may determine the location of the listener periodically (e.g., every 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.). In some examples, listener location unit 610 may determine the location of the listener based on a signal generated by a device positioned by the listener. Some example of devices which may be used by listener location unit 610 to determine the location of the listener include, but are not limited to, mobile computing devices, video game controllers, remote controls, or any other device that may indicate a position of a listener. In some examples, listener location unit 610 may determine the location of the listener based on one or more sensors. Some example of sensors which may be used by listener location unit 610 to determine the location of the listener include, but are not limited to, cameras, microphones, pressure sensors (e.g., embedded in or attached to furniture, vehicle seats), seatbelt sensors, or any other sensor that may indicate a position of a listener. Listener location unit 610 may provide indication 618 of the position of the listener to one or more other components of rendering unit 210, such as rendering format unit 614.

Loudspeaker position unit 612 may be configured to obtain a representation of positions of a plurality of local loudspeakers, such as loudspeakers 24 of FIG. 1. In some examples, loudspeaker position unit 612 may determine the representation of positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers based on local loudspeaker setup information 28. Loudspeaker position unit 612 may obtain local loudspeaker setup information 28 from a wide variety of sources. As one example, a user/listener may manually enter local loudspeaker setup information 28 via a user interface of audio decoding unit 22. As another example, loudspeaker position unit 612 may cause the plurality of local loudspeakers to emit various tones and utilize a microphone to determine local loudspeaker setup information 28 based on the tones. As another example, loudspeaker position unit 612 may receive images from one or more cameras, and perform image recognition to determine local loudspeaker setup information 28 based on the images. Loudspeaker position unit 612 may provide representation 620 of the positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers to one or more other components of rendering unit 210, such as rendering format unit 614. As another example, local loudspeaker setup information 28 may be pre-programmed (e.g., at a factory) into audio decoding unit 22. For instance, where loudspeakers 24 are integrated into a vehicle, local loudspeaker setup information 28 may be pre-programmed into audio decoding unit 22 by a manufacturer of the vehicle and/or an installer of loudspeakers 24.

Rendering format unit 614 may be configured to generate local rendering format 622 based on a representation of positions of a plurality of local loudspeakers (e.g., a local reproduction layout) and a position of a listener of the plurality of local loudspeakers. In some examples, rendering format unit 614 may generate local rendering format 622 such that, when HOA coefficients 212 are rendered into loudspeaker feeds and played back through the plurality of local loudspeakers, the acoustic “sweet spot” is located at or near the position of the listener. In some examples, to generate local rendering format 622, rendering format unit 614 may generate a local rendering matrix {tilde over (D)}. Rendering format unit 614 may provide local rendering format 622 to one or more other components of rendering unit 210, such as loudspeaker feed generation unit 616 and/or memory 615.

Memory 615 may be configured to store a local rendering format, such as local rendering format 622. Where local rendering format 622 comprises local rendering matrix {tilde over (D)}, memory 615 may be configured to store local rendering matrix {tilde over (D)}.

Loudspeaker feed generation unit 616 may be configured to render HOA coefficients into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers. In the example of FIG. 19, loudspeaker feed generation unit 616 may render the HOA coefficients based on local rendering format 622 such that when the resulting loudspeaker feeds 26 are played back through the plurality of local loudspeakers, the acoustic “sweet spot” is located at or near the position of the listener as determined by listener location unit 610. In some examples, loudspeaker feed generation unit 616 may generate loudspeaker feeds 26 in accordance with Equation (35), where C represents loudspeaker feeds 26, H is HOA coefficients 212, and {tilde over (D)}^(T) is the transpose of the local rendering matrix.

{tilde over (C)}=H{tilde over (D)} ^(T)  (35)

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio encoding device 14, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 20 is labeled audio encoding device 14E. Audio encoding device 14E includes one or more HOA generation units 208E1 and 208E2 (collectively, “HOA generation units 208E”), summer 700, subtractor 702, element selection unit 704, audio encoding unit 51, audio decoding unit 204, vector encoding unit 68, HOA encoding unit 708, bitstream generation unit 52E, and memory 54. In other examples, audio encoding device 14E may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, audio encoding device 14E may not include audio encoding unit 51, or audio encoding unit 51 may be implemented in a separate device connected to audio encoding device 14E via one or more wired or wireless connections.

In general, audio encoding device 14E may be configured to encode a representation of input audio signal 710 into coded audio bitstream 56E. In the example of FIG. 20, input audio signal 710 may include one or more elements E₁-E_(N). In some examples, input audio signal 710 may be a multi-channel audio signal and the one or more elements E₁-E_(N) may each represent a channel of the multi-channel audio signal. In some examples, input audio signal 710 may include one or more audio objects and the one or more elements E₁-E_(N) may each represent an audio object of the one or more audio objects. In some examples, input audio signal 710 may be a first input audio signal and audio encoding device 14E may be configured to obtain a second input audio signal in an HOA domain, such as HOA soundfield 717, and encode a representation of the second input audio signal in coded audio bitstream 56E in combination with the representation of the first audio signal. In some examples, HOA soundfield 717 may include a plurality of HOA coefficients.

In some examples, audio encoding device 14E may obtain a respective spatial positioning vector of spatial positioning vectors 712 for each element of input audio signal 710. For instance, spatial positioning vector V₁ of spatial positioning vectors 712 may correspond to element E₁ of input audio signal 710, spatial positioning vector V₂ of spatial positioning vectors 712 may correspond to element E₂ of input audio signal 710, . . . , and spatial positioning vector V_(N) of spatial positioning vectors 712 may correspond to element E_(N) of input audio signal 710.

In some examples, audio encoding device 14E may obtain spatial positioning vectors 712 in accordance with the techniques discussed above. As one example, where input audio signal 710 is a multi-channel audio signal, audio encoding device 14E may obtain spatial positioning vectors 712 based on source loudspeaker setup information for input audio signal 710. For instance, audio encoding device 14E may obtain spatial positioning vectors 712 such that spatial positioning vectors 712 satisfy above Equations (15) and (16). As another example, where input audio signal 710 includes one or more audio objects, audio encoding device 14E may obtain spatial positioning vectors 712 based on audio object position information for input audio signal 710. For instance, audio encoding device 14E may obtain spatial positioning vectors 712 such that each spatial positioning vector of spatial positioning vectors 712 satisfies above Equation (37).

Audio encoding device 14E may include one or more HOA generation units 208E. As shown in FIG. 20, audio encoding device 14E may include HOA generation unit 208E1 which may be configured to generate HOA soundfield 714 (i.e., a first HOA soundfield that represents an input audio signal comprising a plurality of elements) based on input audio signal 710 and spatial positioning vectors 712. For example, HOA generation unit 208E1 may generate HOA soundfield 714 based on input audio signal 710 and spatial positioning vectors 712 in accordance with Equation (20), above. In some examples, HOA soundfield 714 may include a plurality of HOA coefficients. HOA generation unit 208E1 may output HOA soundfield 714 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as summer 700 and/or element selection unit 704.

Summer 700 may be configured to combine one or more HOA soundfields to generate an output HOA soundfield. For instance, summer 700 may be configured to combine HOA soundfield 717 with HOA soundfield 714 to generate HOA soundfield 716. In some examples, summer 700 may generate HOA soundfield 716 by adding together the coefficients of soundfield 717 and HOA soundfield 714. Summer 700 may output HOA soundfield 716 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as element selection unit 704 and subtractor 702.

In some examples, it may be desirable to encode every element of an input audio signal in a non-HOA domain. However, in some examples, encoding some elements in the non-HOA domain may result in a larger bitstream than encoding those elements in the HOA domain (i.e., as a greater number of bits may be required to represent the elements).

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure and in contrast to audio encoding device 14A of FIG. 3, audio encoding device 14B of FIG. 5, audio encoding device 14C of FIG. 13, audio encoding device 14D of FIG. 17, which may encode every element of an input audio signal in their original non-HOA domain, audio encoding device 14E includes element selection unit 704 which may select a first set of elements from input audio signal 710 for encoding in the non-HOA domain. As one example, element selection unit 704 may analyze the respective energy levels of the elements of input audio signal 710 and select elements that have respective energy levels that are greater than a threshold energy level for encoding in the non-HOA domain. As another example, element selection unit 704 may analyze the respective energy levels of the elements of input audio signal 710 and select a quantity of the elements that have the highest respective energy levels for encoding in the non-HOA domain. For instance, element selection unit 704 may select elements of input audio signal 710 that have the five highest respective energy levels for encoding in the non-HOA domain. Element selection unit 704 may output an indication of the selected elements of input audio signal 710 to one or more other components of audio encoding unit 14E, such as audio encoding unit 51 and/or HOA generation unit 208E2. In some examples, element selection unit 704 may be referred to as an inventory based spatial encoder.

Audio encoding unit 51 may encode the set of elements indicated by element selection unit 704 in the non-HOA domain. For instance, in the example of FIG. 20 where element selection unit 704 indicates elements E₁, E₄, and E₅ of input audio signal 710 (collectively, “selected elements 718”), audio encoding unit 51 may quantize, format, or otherwise compress selected elements 718 to generate encoded elements 720 which may be in the non-HOA domain. In some examples, audio encoding unit 51 may be referred to as an audio CODEC.

In some examples, in addition to encoding the selected elements 718 in the non-HOA domain, audio encoding device 14E may encode a representation of spatial positioning vectors 722 that correspond to the selected elements 718. For instance, in the example of FIG. 20, audio encoding device 14E may include vector encoding unit 68 which may quantize, format, or otherwise compress spatial positioning vectors V₁, V₄, and V₅ to generate encoded spatial positioning vectors 724. Vector encoding unit 68 may output encoded elements 720 and encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as bitstream generation unit 52E. As another example, where input audio signal 710 is a multi-channel audio signal, audio encoding unit 51 may output loudspeaker position information 48 for input audio signal 710 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as bitstream generation unit 52E. As another example, where input audio signal 710 includes a plurality of audio objects, audio encoding unit 51 may output audio object position information 350 for the plurality of audio objects to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as bitstream generation unit 52E.

HOA generation unit 208E2 may be configured to generate HOA soundfield 726 (i.e., a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements) based on selected elements 718 of input audio signal 710 and spatial positioning vectors 722 of spatial positioning vectors 712 that correspond to the selected elements 718. For example, HOA generation unit 208E2 may generate HOA soundfield 726 based on input audio signal 710 and spatial positioning vectors 712 in accordance with Equation (20), above. In some examples, HOA soundfield 726 may include a plurality of HOA coefficients. HOA generation unit 208E2 may output HOA soundfield 726 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as subtractor 702.

Subtractor 702 may be configured to generate an output HOA soundfield that represents a difference between two or more HOA soundfields. For instance, subtractor 702 may be configured to generate HOA soundfield 728 (i.e., a third HOA soundfield) that represents a difference between HOA soundfield 716 and HOA soundfield 726. In some examples, subtractor 702 may generate HOA soundfield 728 by subtracting the coefficients of soundfield 726 from the coefficients of HOA soundfield 716. Subtractor 702 may output HOA soundfield 728 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as HOA encoding unit 708.

HOA encoding unit 708 may be configured to encode an HOA soundfield. In some examples, HOA encoding unit 708 may quantize, format, or otherwise compress HOA soundfield 728 to generate encoded HOA soundfield 730 which may be in the HOA domain. In some examples, to generate encoded HOA soundfield 730, HOA encoding unit 708 may separate HOA soundfield 728 into a foreground soundfield (e.g., one or more nFG signals as discussed below), a background soundfield (e.g., one or more ambient HOA coefficients as discussed below), and one or more vectors that indicate position and shape information for the foreground soundfield (e.g., one or more V[k] vectors as discussed below). In some examples, HOA encoding unit 708 may be referred to as an audio CODEC. Further details of one example of HOA encoding unit 708 are described below with reference to FIG. X. HOA encoding unit 708 may output encoded HOA soundfield 730 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as bitstream generation unit 52E.

Bitstream generation unit 52E may be configured to generate a bitstream based on one or more inputs. In the example of FIG. 20, bitstream generation unit 52E may be configured to encode encoded elements 720, encoded spatial positioning vectors 724, and encoded HOA soundfield 730 into bitstream 56E. The bitstream generation unit 52E may output the coded audio bitstream 56E to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14E, such as memory 54.

As discussed above, in some examples, audio encoding device 14E may directly transmit the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56E) to an audio decoding device. In other examples, audio encoding device 14E may store the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56E) onto a storage medium or a file server for later access by an audio decoding device for decoding and/or playback. In the example of FIG. 20, memory 54 may store at least a portion of bitstream 56E prior to output by audio encoding device 14E. In other words, memory 54 may store all of bitstream 56E or a part of bitstream 56E.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio decoding device 22, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio decoding device 22 shown in FIG. 21 is labeled audio decoding device 22E. The implementation of audio decoding device 22 in FIG. 10 includes a memory 200, a demultiplexing unit 202E, an audio decoding unit 204, a vector decoding unit 207, HOA decoding unit 802, an HOA generation unit 208E, a summer 806, and a rendering unit 210. In other examples, audio decoding device 22E may include more, fewer, or different units. As one example, rendering unit 210 may be implemented in a separate device, such as a loudspeaker, headphone unit, or audio base or satellite device, and may be connected to audio decoding device 22E via one or more wired or wireless connections. As another example, audio decoding device 22E may include a vector creating unit, such as vector creating unit 206 of FIG. 4, in addition to or in place of vector decoding unit 207.

In contrast to audio decoding device 22A of FIG. 4, audio decoding device 22B of FIG. 10, audio decoding device 22C of FIG. 16, and audio decoding device 22D of FIG. 18, which may receive an audio signal in a non-HOA domain, audio decoding device 22E may receive an audio signal in an HOA domain and an audio signal in a non-HOA domain. In some examples, the audio signal in the HOA domain and the audio signal in the non-HOA domain may be portions of a single audio signal. For instance, the audio signal in the non-HOA domain may represent a first set of elements of a particular audio signal and the audio signal in the HOA domain may represent a second set of elements of the particular audio signal. In some examples, the audio signal in the HOA domain and the audio signal in the non-HOA domain may be different audio signals.

Memory 200 may obtain encoded audio data, such as bitstream 56E. In some examples, memory 200 may directly receive the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56E) from an audio encoding device. In other examples, the encoded audio data may be stored and memory 200 may obtain the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56E) from a storage medium or a file server. Memory 200 may provide access to bitstream 56E to one or more components of audio decoding device 22E, such as demultiplexing unit 202E.

Demultiplexing unit 202E may demultiplex bitstream 56E to obtain encoded elements 720, encoded spatial positioning vectors 724, and encoded HOA soundfield 730. Demultiplexing unit 202E may provide the obtained data to one or more components of audio decoding device 22E. For instance, demultiplexing unit 202E may provide encoded elements 720, encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 to audio decoding unit 204 and provide encoded HOA soundfield 730 to HOA decoding unit 802.

Audio decoding unit 204 may be configured to decode encoded elements 720, into reconstructed elements 718′. For instance, audio decoding unit 204 may dequantize, deformat, or otherwise decompress encoded elements 720 into reconstructed elements 718′. Audio decoding unit 204 may output reconstructed elements 718′ to one or more other components of audio decoding device 22E, such as HOA generation unit 208E.

Vector decoding unit 207 may be configured to decode encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 into reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′. For instance, vector decoding unit 207 may dequantize, deformat, or otherwise decompress encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 to generate reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′. Vector decoding unit 207 may output reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′ to one or more other components of audio decoding device 22E, such as HOA generation unit 208E.

HOA generation unit 208E may be configured to generate HOA soundfield 804 based on reconstructed elements 718′ and reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′. For example, HOA generation unit 208E may generate HOA soundfield 804 based on reconstructed elements 718′ and reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′ in accordance with Equation (20), above. In some examples HOA soundfield 804 may include a plurality of HOA coefficients. HOA generation unit 208E may output HOA soundfield 804 to one or more other components of audio decoding device 22E, such as summer 806.

HOA decoding unit 802 may be configured to decode an HOA soundfield. In some examples, HOA decoding unit 802 may dequantize, deformat, or otherwise decompress encoded HOA soundfield 730 to generate reconstructed HOA soundfield 808 which may be in the HOA domain. In some examples, HOA decoding unit 802 may be referred to as an audio CODEC. Further details of one example of HOA decoding unit 802 are described below with reference to FIG. X. HOA encoding unit 802 may output reconstructed HOA soundfield 808 to one or more other components of audio decoding device 22E, such as summer 806.

Summer 806 may be configured to combine one or more HOA soundfields to generate an output HOA soundfield. For instance, summer 806 may be configured to combine HOA soundfield 804 with reconstructed HOA soundfield 808 to generate HOA soundfield 810. In some examples, summer 806 may generate HOA soundfield 810 by adding together the coefficients of HOA soundfield 804 and reconstructed HOA soundfield 808. Summer 806 may output HOA soundfield 810 to one or more other components of audio decoding device 22E, such as rendering unit 210.

Rendering unit 210 may be configured to render an HOA soundfield to generate a plurality of audio signals. In some examples, rendering unit 210 may render HOA soundfield 810 to generate audio signals 26E for playback at a plurality of local loudspeakers, such as loudspeakers 24 of FIG. 1. Where the plurality of local loudspeakers includes L loudspeakers, audio signals 26E may include channels C₁ through C_(L) that are respectively intended for playback through loudspeakers 1 through L.

Rendering unit 210 may generate audio signals 26E based on local loudspeaker setup information 28, which may represent positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers. In some examples, local loudspeaker setup information 28 may be in the form of a local rendering format {tilde over (D)}. In some examples, local rendering format {tilde over (D)} may be a local rendering matrix. In some examples, such as where local loudspeaker setup information 28 is in the form of an azimuth and an elevation of each of the local loudspeakers, rendering unit 210 may determine local rendering format {tilde over (D)} based on local loudspeaker setup information 28. In some examples, rendering unit 210 may generate audio signals 26E based on local loudspeaker setup information 28 in accordance with Equation (29), above, where {tilde over (C)} represents audio signals 26E, H represents HOA soundfield 810, and {tilde over (D)}^(T) represents the transpose of the local rendering format {tilde over (D)}.

In some examples, the local rendering format {tilde over (D)} may be different than the source rendering format D used to determine spatial positioning vectors 722′. As one example, positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than positions of the plurality of source loudspeakers. As another example, a number of loudspeakers in the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than a number of loudspeakers in the plurality of source loudspeakers. As another example, both the positions of the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than positions of the plurality of source loudspeakers and the number of loudspeakers in the plurality of local loudspeakers may be different than the number of loudspeakers in the plurality of source loudspeakers.

In some examples, such as where the coding process performed by audio decoding unit 204 is lossless, HOA soundfield 810 may be approximately equal to HOA soundfield 716 of FIG. 20. For instance, where the coding process performed by audio decoding unit 204 is lossless, the reconstructed elements 718′ may be approximately equal to the elements 718 of FIG. 20 which may cause HOA soundfield 804 to be approximately equal to HOA soundfield 726 of FIG. 20. However, in some examples, such as where the coding process performed by audio decoding unit 204 is lossless, HOA soundfield 810 may be different than HOA soundfield 716 of FIG. 20. For instance, where the coding process performed by audio decoding unit 204 is lossy, the reconstructed elements 718′ may be different than the elements 718 of FIG. 20 which may cause HOA soundfield 804 to be different than HOA soundfield 726 of FIG. 20. In general, it may be desirable for an audio decoding device to reproduce an audio signal as accurately as possible.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, an audio encoding device may improve the accuracy of an audio decoding device's reproduction of an audio signal by implementing a closed-loop encoding technique that accounts for coding losses. An example of such an audio encoding device is described below with reference to FIG. 22.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of audio encoding device 14, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The example implementation of audio encoding device 14 shown in FIG. 20 is labeled audio encoding device 14F. Audio encoding device 14F includes HOA generation unit 208E1, HOA generation unit 208F, summer 700, subtractor 702, element selection unit 704, audio encoding unit 51, vector encoding unit 68, audio decoding unit 204, vector decoding unit 207, HOA encoding unit 708, bitstream generation unit 52F, and memory 54. In other examples, audio encoding device 14F may include more, fewer, or different units. For instance, audio encoding device 14F may not include audio encoding unit 51 or audio encoding unit 51 may be implemented in a separate device connected to audio encoding device 14E via one or more wired or wireless connections.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure and in contrast to audio encoding device 14E of FIG. 20, which may determine the remainder of HOA soundfield 716 to be encoded in the HOA domain without regard for coding effects (e.g., losses, distortions, etc.), audio encoding device 14F includes audio decoding unit 204 which may enable audio decoding device 14F to determine the remainder of HOA soundfield 716 to be encoded in the HOA domain while accounting for coding effects (e.g., losses, distortions, etc.). Audio decoding unit 204 may be configured to decode encoded elements 720 into reconstructed elements 718′. For instance, audio decoding unit 204 may dequantize, deformat, or otherwise decompress encoded elements 720 into reconstructed elements 718′. Audio decoding unit 204 may output reconstructed elements 718′ to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14F, such as HOA generation unit 208F. In this way, audio encoding device 14F may perform analysis by synthesis.

Vector decoding unit 207 may be configured to decode encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 into reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′. For instance, vector decoding unit 207 may dequantize, deformat, or otherwise decompress encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 to generate reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′. Vector decoding unit 207 may output reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′ to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14F, such as HOA generation unit 208F.

HOA generation unit 208F may be configured to generate HOA soundfield 820 (i.e., a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements) based on reconstructed elements 718′ and reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′. For example, HOA generation unit 208F may generate HOA soundfield 820 based on reconstructed elements 718′ and reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′ in accordance with Equation (20), above. In some examples, HOA soundfield 820 may include a plurality of HOA coefficients. HOA generation unit 208F may output HOA soundfield 804 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14F, such as subtractor 702.

Subtractor 702 may be configured to generate an output HOA soundfield that represents a difference between two or more HOA soundfields. For instance, subtractor 702 may be configured to generate HOA soundfield 728 (i.e., a third HOA soundfield) that represents a difference between HOA soundfield 716 and HOA soundfield 820. In some examples, subtractor 702 may generate HOA soundfield 728 by subtracting the coefficients of soundfield 820 from the coefficients of HOA soundfield 716. In some examples, as the coefficients of soundfield 820 may include one or more errors due to reconstructed elements 718′ and reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722′ being encoded and decoded, generating HOA soundfield 728 to represent the difference between HOA soundfield 716 and HOA soundfield 820 may comprise performing analysis by synthesis. Subtractor 702 may output HOA soundfield 728 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14F, such as HOA encoding unit 708.

HOA encoding unit 708 may be configured to encode an HOA soundfield. In some examples, HOA encoding unit 708 may quantize, format, or otherwise compress HOA soundfield 728 to generate encoded HOA soundfield 730, which may be in the HOA domain. In some examples, to generate encoded HOA soundfield 730, HOA encoding unit 708 may separate HOA soundfield 728 into a foreground soundfield (e.g., one or more nFG signals as discussed below), a background soundfield (e.g., one or more ambient HOA coefficients as discussed below), and one or more vectors that indicate position and shape information for the foreground soundfield (e.g., one or more V[k] vectors as discussed below). In some examples, HOA encoding unit 708 may be referred to as an audio CODEC. Further details of one example of HOA encoding unit 708 are described below with reference to FIG. X. HOA encoding unit 708 may output encoded HOA soundfield 730 to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14F, such as bitstream generation unit 52F.

Bitstream generation unit 52E may be configured to generate a bitstream based on one or more inputs. In the example of FIG. 22, bitstream generation unit 52F may be configured to encode encoded elements 720, encoded spatial positioning vectors 724, and encoded HOA soundfield 730 into bitstream 56F. The bitstream generation unit 52F may output the coded audio bitstream 56F to one or more other components of audio encoding device 14F, such as memory 54.

As discussed above, in some examples, audio encoding device 14F may directly transmit the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56F) to an audio decoding device. In other examples, audio encoding device 14F may store the encoded audio data (i.e., bitstream 56F) onto a storage medium or a file server for later access by an audio decoding device for decoding and/or playback. In the example of FIG. 22, memory 54 may store at least a portion of bitstream 56F prior to output by audio encoding device 14F. In other words, memory 54 may store all of bitstream 56F or a part of bitstream 56F.

FIG. 23 illustrates an automotive speaker playback environment, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 23, in some examples, audio decoding device 22 may be included in a vehicle, such as car 2000. In some examples, vehicle 2000 may include one or more occupant sensors. Examples of occupant sensors which may be included in vehicle 2000 include, but are not necessarily limited to, seatbelt sensors, and pressure sensors integrated into seats of vehicle 2000.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations of an audio decoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The techniques of FIG. 24 may be performed by one or more processors of an audio decoding device, such as audio decoding device 22 of FIG. 21, though audio encoding devices having configurations other than audio encoding device 14 may perform the techniques of FIG. 24.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, audio decoding device 22 may obtain, from a coded audio bitstream, a representation of a first audio signal comprising a plurality of elements in a non-higher order ambisonics (HOA) domain (2402). For instance, audio decoding unit 204 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may decode encoded elements 720 to obtain reconstructed elements 718′, which are in the non-HOA domain.

Audio decoding device 22 may obtain, for each respective element of the plurality of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors that are in the HOA domain (2404). For instance, vector decoding unit 207 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may decode encoded spatial positioning vectors 724 to obtain reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722 that correspond to reconstructed elements 718′.

Audio decoding device 22 may generate, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the obtained representation of the first audio signal, a first HOA soundfield that represents the first audio signal (2406). For instance, HOA generation unit 208E may generate HOA soundfield 804 based on reconstructed elements 718′ and reconstructed spatial positioning vectors 722. As discussed above, in some examples, HOA soundfield 804 may include data representing an HOA soundfield, such as HOA coefficients.

Audio decoding device 22 may obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a representation of a second audio signal in an HOA domain (2408). For instance, HOA decoding unit 802 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may obtain encoded HOA soundfield 730 from demultiplexing unit 202E.

Audio decoding device 22 may generate, based on the obtained representation of the second audio signal, a second HOA soundfield that represents the second audio signal (2410). For instance, HOA decoding unit 802 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may generate HOA reconstructed soundfield 808 based on encoded HOA soundfield 730.

Audio decoding device 22 may combine the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield that represents the first audio signal and the second audio signal (2412). For instance, summer 806 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may combine HOA soundfield 804 with reconstructed HOA soundfield 808 to generate HOA soundfield 810.

Audio decoding device 22 may render the third HOA soundfield to generate a plurality of audio signals (2414). For instance, rendering unit 210 (which may or may not be included in audio decoding device 22) may render the set of HOA coefficients to generate a plurality of audio signals based on a local rendering configuration (e.g., a local rendering format). In some examples, rendering unit 210 may render the set of HOA coefficients in accordance with Equation (21), above.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations of an audio decoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The techniques of FIG. 25 may be performed by one or more processors of an audio decoding device, such as audio decoding device 22 of FIG. 21, though audio encoding devices having configurations other than audio encoding device 14 may perform the techniques of FIG. 25.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, audio decoding device 22 may obtain, from a coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an input audio signal in a non-higher order ambisonics (HOA) domain (2502). For instance, audio decoding unit 204 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may decode encoded elements 720 to obtain reconstructed elements 718′, which are in the non-HOA domain.

Audio decoding device 22 may obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a second set of element of the input audio signal in an HOA domain (2504). For instance, HOA decoding unit 802 of audio decoding device 22E of FIG. 21 may generate HOA reconstructed soundfield 808 based on encoded HOA soundfield 730. As one example, where the input audio signal is a multi-channel audio signal, audio decoding device 22 may obtain a first set of the channels in a non-HOA domain and a second set of the channels in an HOA domain.

Audio decoding device 22 may generate, based on the first set of elements of the input audio signal and the second set of elements of the input audio signal, a plurality of audio signals that collectively represent the input audio signal (2414). For instance, rendering unit 210 (which may or may not be included in audio decoding device 22) may render the set of HOA coefficients to generate a plurality of audio signals based on a local rendering configuration (e.g., a local rendering format). In some examples, rendering unit 210 may render the set of HOA coefficients in accordance with Equation (21), above.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations of an audio encoding device, in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. The techniques of FIG. 26 may be performed by one or more processors of an audio encoding device, such as audio encoding device 14 of FIGS. 20 and 22, though audio encoding devices having configurations other than audio encoding device 14 may perform the techniques of FIG. 26.

In accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure, audio encoding device 14 may obtain an input audio signal (2602). For instance, HOA generation unit 208E1 of audio encoding device 14E of FIG. 20 may obtain input audio signal 710.

Audio encoding device 14 may select a first set of elements of the input audio signal for encoding in a non-HOA domain (2604). For instance, element selection unit 704 of audio encoding device 14E of FIG. 20 may select elements 718 of input audio signal 710 for encoding in a non-HOA domain based on respective energies of the elements of input audio signal 710.

Audio encoding device 14 may encode, in a coded audio bitstream, a representation of the first set of elements of the input audio signal in the non-HOA domain and a representation of a second set of elements of the input audio signal in the HOA domain (2606). For instance, audio encoding unit 51 and bitstream generation unit 52E of audio encoding device 14E of FIG. 20 may encode selected elements 718 in bitstream 56E as encoded elements 720, and HOA encoding unit 708 and bitstream generation unit 52E may encode HOA soundfield 728 in bitstream 56E as encoded HOA soundfield 730.

The following numbered examples may illustrate one or more aspects of the disclosure:

Example 1

A device for encoding audio data, the device comprising: one or more processors configured to: obtain an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generate a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; select a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generate, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generate a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield; and a memory, electrically coupled to the one or more processors, configured to store at least a portion of the coded audio bitstream.

Example 2

The device of example 1, wherein, to generate the second HOA soundfield, the one or more processors are configured to: decode the encoded representation of the selected set of elements and the encoded indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors; and combine the decoded set of spatial positioning vectors with the decoded representation of the selected set of elements to generate the second HOA soundfield.

Example 3

The device of example 2, wherein, to generate the third HOA soundfield that represents the difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield, the one or more processors perform analysis by synthesis.

Example 4

The device of any combination of examples 1-3, wherein, to select the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain, the one or more processors are configured to: select a number of elements of the audio signal with the highest energy levels for encoding in the non-HOA domain.

Example 5

The device of any combination of examples 1-4, wherein, to select the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain, the one or more processors are configured to: select respective elements of the audio signal with respective energy levels that are greater than a threshold energy level for encoding in the non-HOA domain.

Example 6

The device of any combination of examples 1-5, wherein each element of the audio signal comprises a channel of a multi-channel audio signal or an audio object.

Example 7

The device of example, wherein the audio signal further comprises an input HOA soundfield.

Example 8

The device of any combination of examples 1-7, further comprising: one or more microphones configured to capture the audio signal.

Example 9

A device for decoding audio data, the device comprising: a memory configured to store at least a portion of a coded audio bitstream; and one or more processors configured to: obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an audio signal in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain and a second set of elements of the audio signal in an HOA domain; obtain, for each respective element of the first set of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors, in the HOA domain; generate, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the first set of elements, a first HOA soundfield, wherein the first HOA soundfield represents the first set of elements; generate a second HOA soundfield that represents the second set of elements; combine the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield, the third HOA soundfield representing the audio signal; determine a local rendering format that represents a configuration of a plurality of local loudspeakers; and render, based on the local rendering format, the third HOA soundfield into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers.

Example 10

The device of example 9, wherein the audio signal comprises a multi-channel audio signal, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal.

Example 11

The device of example 9, wherein the audio signal comprises a plurality of audio objects, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects.

Example 12

The device of example 9, wherein the elements of the audio signal comprise channels of a multi-channel audio signal and one or more audio objects.

Example 13

The device of any combination of examples 9-12, wherein the device includes one or more of the plurality of local loudspeakers.

Example 14

A method for encoding audio data, the method comprising: obtaining an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generating a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; selecting a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generating, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generating a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield.

Example 15

The method of example 14, wherein generating the second HOA soundfield comprises: decoding the encoded representation of the selected set of elements and the encoded indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors; and combining the decoded set of spatial positioning vectors with the decoded representation of the selected set of elements to generate the second HOA soundfield.

Example 16

The method of any combination of examples 14-15, wherein selecting the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain comprises: selecting a number of elements of the audio signal with the highest energy levels for encoding in the non-HOA domain.

Example 17

The method of any combination of examples 14-16, wherein selecting the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain comprises: selecting respective elements of the audio signal with respective energy levels that are greater than a threshold energy level for encoding in the non-HOA domain.

Example 18

The method of any combination of examples 14-17, wherein each element of the audio signal comprises a channel of a multi-channel audio signal or an audio object.

Example 19

The method of example 18, wherein the audio signal further comprises an input HOA soundfield.

Example 20

A method for decoding audio data, the method comprising: obtaining, from a coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an audio signal in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain and a second set of elements of the audio signal in an HOA domain; obtaining, for each respective element of the first set of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors, in the HOA domain; generating, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the first set of elements, a first HOA soundfield, wherein the first HOA soundfield represents the first set of elements; generating a second HOA soundfield that represents the second set of elements; combining the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield, the third HOA soundfield representing the audio signal; determining a local rendering format that represents a configuration of a plurality of local loudspeakers; and rendering, based on the local rendering format, the third HOA soundfield into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers.

Example 21

The method of example 20, wherein the audio signal comprises a multi-channel audio signal, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal.

Example 22

The method of example 20, wherein the audio signal comprises a plurality of audio objects, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects.

Example 23

The method of example 20, wherein the elements of the audio signal comprise channels of a multi-channel audio signal and one or more audio objects.

Example 24

A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of an audio encoding or audio decoding device to perform the method of any combination of examples 14-23.

Example 25

An audio encoding or audio decoding device comprising means for performing the method of any combination of examples 14-23.

In each of the various instances described above, it should be understood that the audio encoding device 14 may perform a method or otherwise comprise means to perform each step of the method for which the audio encoding device 14 is configured to perform. In some instances, the means may comprise one or more processors. In some instances, the one or more processors may represent a special purpose processor configured by way of instructions stored to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In other words, various aspects of the techniques in each of the sets of encoding examples may provide for a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform the method for which the audio encoding device 14 has been configured to perform.

In one or more examples, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. Computer-readable media may include computer-readable storage media, which corresponds to a tangible medium such as data storage media. Data storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by one or more computers or one or more processors to retrieve instructions, code, and/or data structures for implementation of the techniques described in this disclosure. A computer program product may include a computer-readable medium.

Likewise, in each of the various instances described above, it should be understood that the audio decoding device 22 may perform a method or otherwise comprise means to perform each step of the method for which the audio decoding device 22 is configured to perform. In some instances, the means may comprise one or more processors. In some instances, the one or more processors may represent a special purpose processor configured by way of instructions stored to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In other words, various aspects of the techniques in each of the sets of encoding examples may provide for a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform the method for which the audio decoding device 22 has been configured to perform.

By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. It should be understood, however, that computer-readable storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transitory media, but are instead directed to non-transitory, tangible storage media. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Instructions may be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable logic arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry. Accordingly, the term “processor,” as used herein may refer to any of the foregoing structure or any other structure suitable for implementation of the techniques described herein. In addition, in some aspects, the functionality described herein may be provided within dedicated hardware and/or software modules configured for encoding and decoding, or incorporated in a combined codec. Also, the techniques could be fully implemented in one or more circuits or logic elements.

The techniques of this disclosure may be implemented in a wide variety of devices or apparatuses, including a wireless handset, an integrated circuit (IC) or a set of ICs (e.g., a chip set). Various components, modules, or units are described in this disclosure to emphasize functional aspects of devices configured to perform the disclosed techniques, but do not necessarily require realization by different hardware units. Rather, as described above, various units may be combined in a codec hardware unit or provided by a collection of interoperative hardware units, including one or more processors as described above, in conjunction with suitable software and/or firmware.

Various aspects of the techniques have been described. These and other aspects of the techniques are within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A device for encoding audio data, the device comprising: one or more processors configured to: obtain an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generate a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; select a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generate, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generate a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield; and a memory, electrically coupled to the one or more processors, configured to store at least a portion of the coded audio bitstream.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein, to generate the second HOA soundfield, the one or more processors are configured to: decode the encoded representation of the selected set of elements and the encoded indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors; and combine the decoded set of spatial positioning vectors with the decoded representation of the selected set of elements to generate the second HOA soundfield.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein, to generate the third HOA soundfield that represents the difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield, the one or more processors perform analysis by synthesis.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein, to select the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain, the one or more processors are configured to: select a number of elements of the audio signal with the highest energy levels for encoding in the non-HOA domain.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein, to select the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain, the one or more processors are configured to: select respective elements of the audio signal with respective energy levels that are greater than a threshold energy level for encoding in the non-HOA domain.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein each element of the audio signal comprises a channel of a multi-channel audio signal or an audio object.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the audio signal further comprises an input HOA soundfield.
 8. The device of claim 1, further comprising: one or more microphones configured to capture the audio signal.
 9. A device for decoding audio data, the device comprising: a memory configured to store at least a portion of a coded audio bitstream; and one or more processors configured to: obtain, from the coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an audio signal in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain and a second set of elements of the audio signal in an HOA domain; obtain, for each respective element of the first set of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors, in the HOA domain; generate, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the first set of elements, a first HOA soundfield, wherein the first HOA soundfield represents the first set of elements; generate a second HOA soundfield that represents the second set of elements; combine the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield, the third HOA soundfield representing the audio signal; determine a local rendering format that represents a configuration of a plurality of local loudspeakers; and render, based on the local rendering format, the third HOA soundfield into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the audio signal comprises a multi-channel audio signal, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal.
 11. The device of claim 9, wherein the audio signal comprises a plurality of audio objects, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects.
 12. The device of claim 9, wherein the elements of the audio signal comprise channels of a multi-channel audio signal and one or more audio objects.
 13. The device of claim 9, wherein the device includes one or more of the plurality of local loudspeakers.
 14. A method for encoding audio data, the method comprising: obtaining an audio signal comprising a plurality of elements; generating a first Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) soundfield that represents the audio signal; selecting a set of elements of the audio signal for encoding in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain; generating, based on the selected set of elements and a set of spatial positioning vectors, a second HOA soundfield that represents the selected set of elements; generating a third HOA soundfield that represents a difference between the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield; and generate a coded audio bitstream that includes a representation of the selected set of elements in the non-HOA domain, an indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors, and a representation of the third HOA soundfield.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the second HOA soundfield comprises: decoding the encoded representation of the selected set of elements and the encoded indication of the set of spatial positioning vectors; and combining the decoded set of spatial positioning vectors with the decoded representation of the selected set of elements to generate the second HOA soundfield.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain comprises: selecting a number of elements of the audio signal with the highest energy levels for encoding in the non-HOA domain.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting the one or more elements of the audio signal for encoding in the non-HOA domain comprises: selecting respective elements of the audio signal with respective energy levels that are greater than a threshold energy level for encoding in the non-HOA domain.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein each element of the audio signal comprises a channel of a multi-channel audio signal or an audio object.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the audio signal further comprises an input HOA soundfield.
 20. A method for decoding audio data, the method comprising: obtaining, from a coded audio bitstream, a first set of elements of an audio signal in a non-Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA) domain and a second set of elements of the audio signal in an HOA domain; obtaining, for each respective element of the first set of elements, a respective spatial positioning vector of a set of spatial positioning vectors, in the HOA domain; generating, based on the set of spatial positioning vectors and the first set of elements, a first HOA soundfield, wherein the first HOA soundfield represents the first set of elements; generating a second HOA soundfield that represents the second set of elements; combining the first HOA soundfield and the second HOA soundfield to generate a third HOA soundfield, the third HOA soundfield representing the audio signal; determining a local rendering format that represents a configuration of a plurality of local loudspeakers; and rendering, based on the local rendering format, the third HOA soundfield into a plurality of output audio signals that each correspond to a respective local loudspeaker of the plurality of local loudspeakers.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the audio signal comprises a multi-channel audio signal, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of channels of the multi-channel audio signal.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein the audio signal comprises a plurality of audio objects, wherein the first set of elements comprises a first set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects, wherein the second set of elements comprises a second HOA soundfield, the second HOA soundfield representing a second set of audio objects of the plurality of audio objects.
 23. The method of claim 20, wherein the elements of the audio signal comprise channels of a multi-channel audio signal and one or more audio objects. 